RuneScape developer Jagex is considering removing one of the game's least popular, yet most pervasive, layers of microtransactions. But instead of just making the decision itself, it's letting its entire playerbase vote on whether or not to ditch them entirely.
Oh, and the vote is definitely rigged. But it's...rigged in the players' favor?
Currently, the modern version of RuneScape (also known as RuneScape 3) features a number of different types of microtransactions, including a major feature called Treasure Hunter. Very basically, Treasure Hunter allows players to obtain keys in various ways, which are used to open treasure chests and receive items of varying rarity. Though it is possible to obtain small numbers of keys without spending money, far more are obtainable for players who spend money on the game. Over time, this has led to players complaining that Treasure Hunter is essentially a pay-to-win mechanic, since players can obtain items that give them large amounts of experience points through Treasure Hunter, effectively encouraging players to spend more to level up characters quickly.
There have been other issues with Treasure Hunter over the years as well, as well as its predecessor microtransaction "Squeal of Fortune", but the ability to essentially pay to bypass gameplay is by far the most controversial. In fact, Jagex even experimented with removing the feature in part back in July, when it disabled microtransactions for a week. A follow-up survey run by the studio suggested that 65% of players felt positively or neutral about the change.
So today, Jagex sent out a press release stating that it was launching a community vote to "decide the future of RuneScape's microtransactions." The developer has launched a page on its website that allows players to vote to remove Treasure Hunter from the game entirely, simultaneously removing over 220 associated items, including the experience points boosting items that have caused issues in the past. Jagex says it will remove Treasure Hunter from the game if the poll receives over 100,000 votes.
“This vote is one of the most important moments in RuneScape’s history," said Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy in a statement. "Starting right now, players will cast the deciding vote on the future direction of the game. Since Squeal of Fortune was introduced in 2012, and subsequently Treasure Hunter in 2014, our approach to monetisation has, over time, eroded some of the integrity at the heart of RuneScape.
"The most concerning elements of our MTX systems have been those that allowed players to bypass core gameplay, skipping over the depth, challenge, and sense of discovery that make RuneScape truly special. While these systems have helped fund the game, they’ve done so at a cost to something far greater: the integrity of our worlds. This vote is about correcting that, and taking a step toward designing experiences that are fair, rewarding, and built to last.”
It's critical to point out though that Jagex's poll really isn't a poll at all. It's a button players can press if they want to vote in favor of removing Treasure Hunter. There's no option for players to vote "no", Jagex will simply implement the change if 100,000 people total vote in favor. And the page itself makes it pretty dang clear that Jagex wants players to vote for this. Using language such as suggesting those who vote "yes" want to "see an integrity-led RuneScape powered by your own accomplishments" and the presence of multiple green "Vote Yes Now" buttons all down the page are, uh, not exactly subtle. Nor is the fact that Jagex seems pretty ready to implement this, as if it already knows what the result would be.
But while a clearly-rigged non-poll sounds bad, it's also critical to note that players actually do seem to want this to happen. Over on the RuneScape subreddit, players are ecstatic. The top comment on the Jagex mod's official post announcing the vote simply says "Holy based", followed by "I can't believe I lived to see this", and many, many more comments along those lines. In fact, the positivity is overwhelming. While some players seem skeptical that they'll meet the 100,000 vote requirement, others are confident, even suggesting the OSRS (Old School RuneScape) players might support the poll as well, just on principle. It seems as though they needn't worry. At the time this piece was written, the poll had been up for just four hours, and had already reached 50,000 votes. For context, Jagex says on its website that there have been over 320,000,000 RuneScape accounts created over the years...though how many of those are active is a very different question (Old School RuneScape recently surpassed 240,000 players this past August).
Overall, this seems like a positive, long-needing, and welcome change for the RuneScape community. It's just a little weird that it's being framed as a poll, when the desired outcome for both players and developer is pretty obvious. There is a potential reading of this as simply a move for positive PR, specifically given that Jagex was acquired just last year, Bellamy was instated as a new CEO just this past March, and he's already had a bad round of headlines over canceling annual in-game Pride events.
Players have until November 12 to vote if they would like to remove the microtransactions, and can continue voting beyond the 100,000 needed numbers to express support for the change. Removing Treasure Hunter won't fully remove all microtransactions from the game, with cosmetics and bonus XP items with set caps to help curb exploits will remain.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
November’s snuck up again, bringing with it that magical mix of lazy evenings, snack runs, and endless streaming temptation. Between the festive flicks, fresh originals, and the shows everyone’s been nagging you to catch up on, I’ve found plenty to keep your eyes glued to the screen. So, consider this your all-in-one binge guide; a handpicked lineup of the best films and series streaming across Australia right now. Clear your weekend, claim the couch, and prepare to sink into some seriously satisfying escapism.
Table of Contents
TV litter pick: The Death of Bunny Munro : A look at the life of a perpetually libidinous travelling salesman who uses his door-to-door beauty products to meet new partners.
Movie litter pick: Last Breath – 2 Nov : Just as wild and tense as you’d expect from a movie starring Woody Harrelson, Finn Cole, and Simu Liu as saturation divers determined to risk their lives after one of their own becomes marooned.
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TV litter pick: Stranger Things 5: Vol. 1 – 27 Nov : Vol. 1 will begin in the aftermath of season four's apocalyptic events, with the rifts open in Hawkins, Vecna at large, and the town under military quarantine.
Movie litter pick: Frankenstein – 7 Nov : This del Toro take is a haunting reimagining of the classic tale about a brilliant but egotistical scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and his tragic creation.
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TV litter pick: Fire And Water: Making The Avatar Films – 7 Nov : Get a first look at the upcoming “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, concept art, and interviews with cast and filmmakers.
Movie litter pick: Fantastic Four – 5 Nov: Set against the backdrop of a ’60s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel’s First Family must defend Earth from a space god and his enigmatic herald.
TV litter pick: Pluribus – 7 Nov : In this Vince Gilligan production we meet Carol Sturka, the most miserable person on Earth who must save the world from happiness.
Movie litter pick: The Family Plan 2 – 21 Nov : The Morgan family's Christmas vacation is interrupted by a mysterious ghost from Stan's past who wants to take over his father's business.
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TV litter pick: The Mighty Nein – 19 Nov : A group of fugitives and outcasts must learn to work together after an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands.
Movie litter pick: Karate Kid: Legends – 3 Nov : After moving to New York City with his mother, kung fu prodigy Li Fong struggles to let go of the past as he tries to fit in with his new classmates.
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TV litter pick: Robin Hood - Nov 2 : After the Norman invasion of England, Rob, a Saxon forester's son, and Marian, a Norman lord's daughter, fall in love and unite to fight for justice.
Movie litter pick: Bullet Train - Nov 9 : A hitman codenamed "Ladybug" has a simple smash-and-snatch objective become complicated when rival assassins come to ride the same rails.
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Adam Mathew is our Aussie streaming savant. He also games on YouTube.
After a few long sessions since yesterday’s surprise launch of Battlefield REDSEC, the free-to-play battle royale spin-off of Battlefield 6, it’s clearly coming after other grounded-ish military battle royales like PUBG and Call of Duty: Warzone. Hiding a fun mission structure within its streamlined familiarity — as well as an entire non-BR game mode — I’ve had the most fun when its map, called Fort Lyndon, is used to push the boundary beyond the requisite ever-shrinking storm. I still need some more time in the fray to nail down a final opinion, especially since most of the random squadmates I’ve matched up with in the main BR modes haven’t exactly been playing as a team. But for now, the squad-based, elimination-driven, free-for-all Gauntlet mode has impressed me more than the battle royale option itself.
With destructible environments, the ultimate buzzword (levelution), powerful vehicles that can alter the tide of battle or serve as fun chokepoints, and a baked-in squad system, Battlefield 6 seems like a perfect fit for a battle royale mode. But so far, REDSEC’s translation of Battlefield’s role-based structure feels like a shallow, if fun, take on the genre. Its hasn’t offered much yet to fully draw me away from Fortnite’s cartoonish chaos and electrifying events or separate itself from the likes of PUBG or Warzone beyond using Battlefield 6’s weapons and the Frostbite Engine. On the surface, REDSEC seems intent on reviving the rote 360-era conversation about shooters with a washed-out color palette because it seems so similar to its contemporaries.
Thankfully, REDSEC’s compelling mission structure takes a rewarding cleaver to the otherwise ho-hum military BR doldrums. They’re kind of like the missions and bounties you’d find in Fortnite, but with better rewards and more diverse challenges. Even with otherwise uncooperative squadmates, I found myself planting bombs and capturing waypoints to reap the benefits of well-communicated rewards. That seems to be REDSEC’s secret sauce: each in-game mission pops up like clockwork after a few minutes, only requiring a few button presses to get you to the next simple target.
Hinging on classic military FPS objectives like babysitting a planted bomb or picking up an important file so you can transmit its signal back to home base, these smaller sidequests add order to the otherwise chaotic pace of conquering the battlefield. Completing an objective will always come with some kind of supply drop. I really like how these drops are handled, offering a clearly communicated reward before accepting the mission, since some will alert nearby players to your presence.
In contrast, Gauntlet expands each of these extra objectives into full-fledged game modes, pitting a handful of four-player squads against each other to rack up the most points on each objective. The mode and objective will change throughout each of the four rounds, with the lowest-performing squads getting eliminated until only two remain. Rotating through different named locations within Fort Lyndon, each game mode uses a piece of the map and works more like a mish-mash between Fall Guys and a squad-based, free-for-all version of traditional Battlefield that’s easily been my favorite part of REDSEC for now.
Battlefield REDSEC’s slow-rolling storm just hasn’t done much to incentivize me toward a hard objective or new destination, but its mission structure usually got me (and any uncooperative squadmates) moving in the right direction towards otherwise flat attempts at the #1 spot so far. I’ll need more time to complete missions and snipe away at opponents across the map before delivering a final verdict, but for now, REDSEC at least has some unexpectedly interesting things going for it.
We've known from the start that Absolute Batman is a much more brutal and violent alternative to DC's more traditional takes on the Dark Knight. He pretty much has to be when he lives in a corrupted world where the deck is utterly stacked against him and his fellow heroes. But after reading Absolute Batman Annual #1, we're starting to wonder. Is there a limit to how far Absolute Batman will go? Does this Batman actually kill?
Read on for a breakdown of what happens in Absolute Batman Annual #1 and why this Batman takes things further than any other version, even the hyper-violent Batman of the Arkham games.
Warning: Beware of spoilers ahead for Absolute Batman #1!
While the main Absolute Batman series is currently exploring the feud between Batman and this universe's terrifying incarnation of Bane, the annual flashes back to an earlier period in the young hero's career. In this story by writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson (of Skybound Transformers fame), Batman wages a one-man war against a group of white supremacists who have targeted a homeless encampment.
Early on, Bruce is shown buying equipment for the coming battle. He asks the seller if the weapons are non-lethal, to which the seller refers to them as more "less lethal." That doesn't seem to faze Bruce at all, one sign that maybe he won't be too broken up if he leaves a few dead bodies in his wake.
Later, when the battle begins in earnest, Batman pulls absolutely no punches in combating the white supremacists. One ringleader finds his arm broken in a truly grotesque fashion. Another is hit with several Batarangs in his eyes, only for that to be swiftly followed up with a brutal knee to the face. As many fans have pointed out, Absolute Bats seems to borrow some moves from AEW star Kenny Omega's playbook, from the V Trigger to the One-Winged Angel (Johnson is famously very fond of professional wrestling).
Later, Batman goes even harder still, crashing his enormous Batmobile (basically a repurposed construction vehicle) into a building where the white supremacists flee and torching many with a flamethrower. At some point, it becomes hard to imagine some of these people don't die from the sheer ferocity of Batman's assault.
But is that the idea? Bruce's actions are contrasted by those of a pacifist priest who implores him to realize that violence isn't the answer. This stirs up memories of Bruce's dead father Thomas, who once praised his young son for his compassion. It's even revealed that Thomas and the priest once participated in the same protest against police brutality together. Haunted by those memories, Batman can do nothing but hang his head in shame. His mission is successful, but at what personal cost?
While this issue doesn't make it explicit, it could be inferred that Absolute Batman didn't start out with a firm no-killing rule. Perhaps that only came as a result of the lingering guilt Bruce feels over his actions in this issue. In Absolute Batman #1 (which takes place after the annual), Agent Alfred Pennyworth observes Batman using incredible discipline in his battles with the Black Mask Gang. He has no qualms about breaking bones and severing limbs, but he takes care not to leave anyone with mortal injuries. Again, it seems he wasn't always so discriminating.
What do you think? Was Absolute Batman a killer when he started out? Will he kill again in order to end the threat of Bane or Joker? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
For more on Absolute Batman, find out why Absolute Joker is a fundamentally different character and see why artist Nick Dragotta wants an anime series.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
Lenovo has dropped the price on one of its best equipped gaming laptops to its lowest price ever. The Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 gaming laptop, featuring an OLED display, Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, and RTX 5070 Ti GPU, is down to $1,757.49 after coupon code: "EXTRAFIVE". That's over $600 off in combined savings. The RTX 5070 Ti is a powerful mobile GPU that will easily run game you throw at it, even on the display's upgraded 1600p native resolution.
This particular configuration is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 16GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Both the RAM and SSD are user-upgradeable. The Legion Pro boasts solid build quality and materials with an aluminum top lid and a sturdy plastic bottom chassis. The gorgeous 16" OLED display features a 2.5K 189ppi resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, HDR 1000 True Black certification, and 100% DCI-P3 color space. This new 2025 model has also been updated with the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Connectivity options include a Thunderbolt 4 port with DisplayPort 2.1, a USB Type-C port with up to 100W of Power Delivery, an RJ45 ethernet port, and an HDMI 2.1 port.
The HP Omen Max is equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 24-core processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.4GHz. This is the second most powerful Intel mobile CPU currently available (the Ultra 9 285HX has a slightly higher clock speed) and goes toe to toe with AMD's flagship Ryzen 9 9955HX processor. The new AMD 9000 series X3D mobile GPUs are supposedly faster, but they are limited to the most expensive laptops ($4,000 and up).
The RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU is comparable in performance to the previous generation's RTX 4080 and pulls ahead of it in games that support DLSS 4. It should be able to handle even the newest and most demanding games like Ghost of Yotei, Battlefield 6, and Borderlands 4 on the native 2560x1600 resolution.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Since HBO Max joined the streaming service wars, it has been a force to be reckoned with due to the extensive Warner Bros. media library. Home to culture-forming shows (Games of Thrones, The Last of Us, The Sopranos, etc.) and movie sagas (The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Mad Max, the DC Universe, the Dune Saga, etc.), HBO Max continues to be one of the best streaming services out there.
As streaming has evolved throughout the years, services have been changing in structure, content rights, and pricing. Despite the increase in competition, HBO Max does not currently offer a free trial. So if you're hoping to hop on really quick just to watch the new Superman movie without paying anything, you're out of luck.
That being said, HBO Max and Disney have joined forces to create a new affordable super-bundle that gives users access to HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu in one billing cycle. It's one of the best HBO Max deals available, especially after the most recent price hike.
Although HBO Max doesn't have an official free trial, you can still technically get it "free" through other means. Users who sign up for an annual DashPass membership through DoorDash will gain access to HBO Max (with ads) at no additional cost. This grants those users upwards of $240 in annual value for only $96/year.
If you already have Hulu or Disney+, you can also save on an HBO Max subscription with the newest streaming bundle. The Max/Hulu/Disney+ bundle starts at $19.99/month, saving you over $150 a year (over $300 for the ad-free plan) compared to paying for the three plans individually.
Luckily, if you are looking for a free streaming service trial, there are still multiple competitors that offer quality content and a chance to sample their streaming library for free. Check out these various alternatives below:
For more ways to cut down your streaming bill, take a look at our guide to the best streaming bundles of 2025. You can also check out more of our free trial explainers below:
Connor Sheppard is an Oregon-grown culture writer for IGN with previous work on The Manual. Intrigued from a young age by pop culture and movies, he has developed into an experienced critic and consumer of all things media. From his time earning a bachelor's degree in digital communications at Oregon State University, he found a love for writing and appreciating specific actors and directors in the many films he watches.
Capcom has revealed the official PC system requirements for Resident Evil Requiem. Moreover, the team confirmed – via the game’s Steam page – that it will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. Resident Evil Requiem will be a single-player survival horror game. You’ll play as Grace Ashcroft, and your goal is to stay alive in … Continue reading Resident Evil Requiem PC Requirements Revealed, Denuvo Confirmed →
The post Resident Evil Requiem PC Requirements Revealed, Denuvo Confirmed appeared first on DSOGaming.
The holiday season is almost here, meaning it's the perfect time to buy a gift for a friend, family member, or yourself. If you're a fan of video games, there is arguably no better gift than a brand-new console. The PS5 has firmly hovered around MSRP this year, but for a limited time, you can save $125 off select PlayStation 5 consoles with IGN Rewards!
PlayStation 5 is home to numerous games from both PlayStation Studios and third-party developers. This year, the biggest releases for PS5 included Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Lost Soul Aside, and more. If you've yet to play this console generation's biggest games, there has never been a better time to hop in and see what the hype is about.
To claim this discount, you need to be a member of IGN Rewards. This is completely free — all you need to do is sign up for an IGN account to be eligible for this reward. Head over to the IGN Rewards page linked above, claim the reward, and you'll receive a coupon code that can be redeemed at PlayStation Direct for $125 off!
This reward is set to end on Friday, October 31, at 2:00 PM PT, so be sure to claim it before it's gone.
IGN Rewards is a free platform that allows IGN readers to access free giveaways, discounts, and offers. You'll only need to create an IGN account to be eligible for the program. If you'd like to further your IGN Rewards experience, you can check out IGN Plus, where you can earn monthly games, ad-free browsing, and so much more.
The Chinese Room has released Title Update 1.0.2 for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new patch brings to the table. Update 1.0.2 adds 24 new ways to customize your look, with 8 new hairstyles, 8 makeup styles, and 8 eye colors. Moreover, it … Continue reading Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Patch 1.0.2 Released & Detailed →
The post Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Patch 1.0.2 Released & Detailed appeared first on DSOGaming.
Humble Choice is always a good deal for PC gamers who like a variety of game types. But the online storefront just launched a promo code that gets you October’s Humble Choice games for just $10, rather than the usual $14.99. All you have to do is enter promo code SPOOKY25 at checkout, and you’ll save $5. This month’s eight-game lineup is pretty great, with Atomic Hearts, V Rising, System Shock, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, and more. Read on for the details.
Here’s the full list of PC games included in this months’ Humble Choice:
All of the games are delivered in the form of Steam codes. Most of the games are excellent as well. Our critics gave V Rising and System Shock a 9/10, while Atomic Hearts got an 8/10. From our Atomic Heart review: "This is a lengthy, tough, and terrific-looking shooter that has us bathing in the blood and gears of elaborately designed enemies both biological and robotic and dispatching them with an impressive set of combat options."
Humble Choice is a gaming subscription that gets you a new bundle of PC games each month. So if you don’t want to continue getting a new bundle each month, you’ll have to cancel your subscription, which is easy enough to do (I’ve done it myself). Anytime a bundle I want is on offer, I sign back up and then cancel after I’ve gotten my games, just to ward off future unwanted auto-payments as I have enough subscriptions in my life.
Members also get a few other benefits from a Humble Choice subscription. You save up to 20% off other games on Humble Store, depending on how long your subscription has been active (it starts at 10% off with one month). You also get access to more than 50 classic DRM-free games in the Humble app (the current lineup includes A Short Hike, Getting Over It, and more.
Finally, 5% of your membership fee is donated to a worthy cause each month. This month’s charitable organization is Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
While we’re on the subject of game deals at Humble, the PC game storefront is also running the Humble Halloween Mega Sale, with big savings on tons of games, including Alan Wake 2 for $14.99, Silent Hill 2 for $45.49, and many more.
Disclosure: Humble Bundle is owned by Ziff Davis, the parent company of IGN. Humble Bundle and IGN operate completely independently, and no special consideration is given to Humble Bundle announcements or promotions for coverage.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Remedy Entertainment's CEO has resigned, leaving the new CEO of the developer of Control and Alan Wake to reassure investors after weak sales of FBC: Firebreak left the company significantly lowering its revenue expectations for the year and writing off the game's development costs.
In its quarterly earnings report issued today, Remedy revealed that it recognized a €14.9 million ($17.4 million) impairment charge representing most of the development costs as well as purchased publishing and distribution rights for FBC: Firebreak.
In total, Remedy's revenue decreased 32% year-over-year, to €12.2 million ($14.2 million). Remedy says this was largely driven by lower development fees coming in than last year at this time, during which it received revenue from Annapurna related to development work it did on Control 2. Remedy also revealed that it was revising its revenue expectations for the year: while previously Remedy expected revenue and operating profit to increase year-over-year and be positive, it now expects revenue to increase, but its operating profit to decrease and be negative. No exact numbers were shared.
Alongside this, CEO Tero Virtala has stepped down after nine years in the position. He is succeeded in the interim by board chairman Markus Mäki, who has stepped down from his chairman role and been replaced by Henri Österlund.
In comments by Mäki shared with investors, he stated that while Remedy would continue "working on features which enhance player value" and would keep true to its shared roadmap for Firebreak, the studio has moved development resources elsewhere going forward. Mäki also attempted to reassure investors that Firebreak was not a total loss:
"We have also found positive sides from FBC: Firebreak," he said. "Our first multiplayer product launch was technically successful in a cross-platform environment, and our publishing team has built capabilities which support the releases of our future self-published titles."
FBC: Firebreak was Remedy's first ever self-published game, and while the studio claims it technically succeeded, it also admitted last quarter that it "underperformed" on Steam and that the company was "unsatisfied" with its commercial reception. In today's earnings, Remedy stated that Breakpoint improved the game's sales only "marginally."
We gave FBC: Firebreak a 6/10, saying that it was a "compelling co-op shooter that, despite its good looks, doesn't have the depth to keep things interesting long-term."
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Walmart just dropped the price yet again on a powerful prebuilt gaming PC. The CyberPowerPC gaming PC, featuring a liquid cooled AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, is on sale for $1699 shipped. This prebuilt was originally priced at $2,300, but it went down to $1900 during October Prime Day and another $200 starting this week. This is the best price I've seen so far for a 9800X3D and 5070 Ti combo.
The CyberPowerPC gaming PC (model number SLC7700WST) is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-6000MHz RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The system is cooled by a total of four 120mm airflow fans in addition to the three 120mm fans that are part of the 360mm liquid cooling system. It's all housed in a CyberPowerPC rebadged Lian-Li Prism 321V ATX midtower PC case with panoramic glass windows.
According to Passmark, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the second fastest gaming CPU available right now trailing just behind the pricier 9900X3D. It features a max boost clock of 5.2GHz with 8 cores, 16 threads, and 104MB of L2-L3 cache This is an absolute monster of a processor for gaming, especially at this price point. It's pretty much better than any Intel processor out right now in terms of gaming performance. It doesn't have as many cores as some other modern day CPUs, but keep in mind that most games can't utilize more than eight cores. Check out our AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D review.
The RTX 5070 Ti offers the best bang for your buck in terms of 4K gaming performance. It performs neck-and-neck with the previous generation RTX 4080 Super and pulls ahead in any game that supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation. It is fully capable of running any game in 4K at 60fps. It also has 16GB of VRAM like the RTX 5080, making it viable for AI work. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU review by Jacqueline Thomas for our hands-on impressions.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
EA just introduced its new, destructive take on battle royale with Battlefield REDSEC, and Battlefield 6 base game players are already slamming it with “Mostly Negative” Steam reviews.
PC users who head to Steam to check out the standalone Battlefield experience, which launched across PC and consoles for free yesterday, will be met with a flood of negative Steam reviews across the board. At the time of this piece’s publication, just 35% of REDSEC Steam user reviews were positive, with positive reviews in all languages fairing just slightly better at 39%. Both measurements result in a dark red, Mostly Negative label.
A wave of negativity for Battlefield’s latest crack at battle royale arrives as Battlefield 6 players continue to express their dissatisfaction with the premium experience. Calls for changes to the base game reached a boiling point with the launch of Season 1 yesterday, and now, criticism is spilling into REDSEC.
Although Battlefield 6 and REDSEC exist as separate multiplayer offerings, both EA and Battlefield Studios games share unlocks tied to many challenges, cosmetics, and battle pass unlocks. Where this has evolved into a problem is how one experience might affect another, with many Battlefield 6 players complaining of weekly challenges that require them to play battle royale.
“I wouldn't hate it so much if I wasn't forced to play it for challenges in the main game,” one negative Battlefield REDSEC Steam review says. “But I am. So I do.”
“This is not why I bought Battlefield 6,” they add.
"Oh, but you just can reroll the challenges!" another negative review says. "Yeah and 3 of them are sill for the BR because they are pushing it hard on people that would not touch it even once..."
Other PC players agree that challenges granting large amounts of Battlefield 6 battle pass XP shouldn’t be tied to another experience, but dissonance isn’t the only thing tanking REDSEC Steam reviews. Some base game players are using Valve’s digital storefront to air out grievances related to multiplayer map sizes.
Early Battlefield 6 adopters have called for larger multiplayer maps as far back as the August beta tests, with the October 10 launch only adding fuel to the fire, as launch locations failed to live up to expectations for the community. At least a few negative Steam reviews even praise REDSEC’s exclusive battle royale map, Fort Lyndon, with their frustrations mostly summed up with one question: Why does the free-to-play game get the map sizes that premium players are asking for?
“Oh wow a nice big map with lots of POIs and flanks,” another negative REDSEC review says. “If only we could get something like this for the main game.”
“It's trying to be too much all at once,” another Steam user review adds. “The map in this Battle Royale is so good it's criminal that it's not being used for Conquest right now.”
As Battlefield 6 players aim to leave their mark with REDSEC Steam reviews, there are plenty of comments actually related to the new standalone experience itself, too. Many are positive, applauding how BF Studios blends classic Battlefield mechanics with other popular battle royale experiences, like Call of Duty: Warzone. Launch also ushered in a spike in activity, with Steamdb recording a 24-hour peak of 549,766 Battlefield 6 players yesterday.
REDSEC, which encompasses Gauntlet and Portals modes in addition to its battle royale mode, is getting love in the Battlefield community, but there is still a general feeling that the experience is incomplete. Specifically, it’s the lack of a solo queue option and battle royale fatigue that many are calling out – both in negative and positive reviews.
“No solo Mode... When will they learn the overwhelming majority of players play solo?” one negative review asks. “It doesn't feel good to play with randoms against premade coordinated squads.”
“Fun update, the battle pass is not half bad,” a positive review adds. “Only problem with me is not having a solo battle royal mode.”
REDSEC is just 24 hours into its time in the public’s hands. Seasonal updates will continue to offer shared experiences between REDSEC and Battlefield 6. Season 1 launched yesterday, introducing the new Blackwell Fields map for multiplayer, with more mid-season maps and guns set to follow in November and December.
EA has addressed fan feedback in the past, with the latest update introducing fixes for a controversial green skin and some of the bothersome lighting effects that have distracted players since launch. In the meantime, some players have been content simply using their time to draw on walls with the Engineer repair tool.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Physicist Brian Cox has thanked YouTube for taking down accounts that used AI to create deepfakes of him saying “nonsense” about comet ATLAS 3i — but was left wondering what the long-term solution is.
Cox, Professor of Particle Physics at The University of Manchester and star of a number of high-profile science documentaries, took to X / Twitter earlier this week to complain about what he described as “AI shite of me popping up on YouTube.”
“The general rule is that if I appear to say something that you agree with and you are a UFO nobber, flat earth bell end or think comet ATLAS 3i is a spaceship, it’s fake,” he said in the tweet, now viewed 618,500 times.
A lot of this revolves around 3I/ATLAS, which was discovered on July 1, 2025. Since then, astronomers have been working towards understanding the comet because, unlike other comets, 3I/ATLAS doesn't orbit the Sun. It's an interstellar comet, and one of only three we've ever seen. That means it entered our Solar System from elsewhere in the Galaxy, and will eventually exit it, and when it does leave our Solar System it will be gone forever. 3I/ATLAS is thought to be at least 7 billion years old, making it likely twice as old as Earth, and the oldest comet we've ever seen.
Some people are saying 3I/ATLAS could be an alien mothership conducting a hidden maneuver around the sun, and now prominent scientists are discovering deepfakes showing them saying just that.
In response to calls for YouTube to take action, Cox tweeted: “We keep telling them and they are bloody slow.”
It now appears YouTube has taken action, although, according to Cox, limited to the more prominent accounts. In a tweet, he wondered how this will all play out.
“Thanks to @YouTube for taking down the more prominent AI accounts of me quickly - I’m not sure what the solution to this will be in the longer term. Doesn’t matter so much if it’s nonsense about a comet - but in other areas of science and certainly politics it’s clearly important. Interested to know what you think?”
This isn’t the first time celebrities have complained about deepfakes. Earlier this month, Keanu Reeves hit out at AI deepfakes of the John Wick star selling products without his permission, insisting "it's not a lot of fun." In July, it was reported that Reeves pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators.
In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI version of his likeness was being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan. Last year, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his voice online after a series of videos created by someone posing as his niece went viral.
And in May this year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to appeal to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an Instagram post because she couldn’t get the company to pull an AI-generated ad that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.”
As for ATLAS 3i, Cox insisted it is, in fact, a comet, and not a spaceship.
“Just to be clear - given recent drivel on line - Comet 3I/Atlas is a comet, made of carbon dioxide and water ices and bits of other stuff,” he tweeted. “It is entirely natural in origin, its orbit is as expected and it will whizz around the sun and then disappear off into the galaxy again. If it ever encounters another inhabited solar system in the far future I hope the living things there are more sensible than us and enjoy it for what it is - a visitor from elsewhere in the galaxy - a pristine lump of rock and ices which formed around a distant, maybe long-dead star billions of years ago and many light years away, just passing through. Isn’t that wonderful enough?”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Sony has confirmed the PlayStation Plus monthly games for November 2025, confirming a prior leak.
Dealabs' ever-reliable billbil-kun had reported that Stray would be the main title for the PlayStation Plus Essential selection for November 2025, and would be available from November 4, 2025 on PS5 and PS4 for Essential, Extra, and Premium subscribers. And so it has proved.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony confirmed Stray, EA Sports WRC 24, and Totally Accurate Battle Simulator as the three games for November. All three are available to PlayStation Plus members from Tuesday November 4 until Monday December 1.
Stray is French studio BlueTwelve’s third-person cat adventure game set in the neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. As a stray cat, you roam surroundings high and low, defending against unforeseen threats and solving the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by nothing but unassuming droids and dangerous creatures. Lost, alone and separated from family, you must untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten cybercity and find the way home.
IGN’s Stray review returned an 8/10. We said: “Stray is a delightful cat-based platforming adventure in a cyberpunk world worth exploring.”
Codemasters' EA Sports WRC launched in 2023 and managed a 6/10 in IGN's review. We said: "EA Sports WRC feels like a great racing game trying to fight its way out of an unfinished one." TABS, meanwhile, is Landfall Games' physics based medieval battle simulator that lets you pit wacky waving armies against each other.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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