Final Fantasy 14's infamous low poly grapes remained untarnished despite the rest of the game receiving a big graphical upgrade upon the release of expansion Dawntrail.

As reported by Game Spark and translated by Automaton, developer Square Enix is keeping up the running joke which began in 2022 when it released the Endwalker expansion. This beloved expansion was praised across the board with one small exception: ridiculous cuboid bunches of grapes which essentially have a JPEG printed across them, found in one of its maps.

They became an instant meme amongst the Final Fantasy 14 community and even Square Enix eventually got in on the joke too and gave away real world collectibles inspired by the grapes at the Final Fantasy Fan Festivals held in 2023.

Fans of the Attack on Titan anime and virtual reality can finally get their hands on Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable when it hits Early Access on July 23, 2024.

Alongside the release date reveal came the first look at gameplay for the titan slashing game, and given how much players swing around the city at high speeds, it's likely not one for VR newbies.

"Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is a 3D VR action-adventure platforming game based on the manga/anime Attack on Titan," the official synopsis reads.

"Players will join the Scout Regiment and help defend the human race from the onslaught of Titans that have broken through Wall Maria.

Complete timed objectives including outpost defense, securing supply drops to aid fellow soldiers in combat, and slashing towering Titans as they increase in difficulty."

The gameplay trailer shows a lot of that, but doesn't show much of the story or drama which fans of the anime or manga may be looking for. The game is launching in Early Access, of course, so improvements are likely to be made in the future. It launches onto Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and Meta Quest Pro via the Meta Quest story.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

This article features spoilers for The Walking Dead, up to and including the Season 7 premiere.

The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln thinks the brutal death of beloved character Glenn may have been a little much.

Speaking to Empire, Lincoln said The Walking Dead team may have "over-egged the omelet" with that particular death, which came across a touch more grusome than the myriad other featured in the zombie show.

Glenn was a fan favorite character but not even he could escape the brutality of the show, which came in the premiere episode of Season 7. Used to make a point to Lincoln's Rick Grimes, the new big baddie Negan killed Glenn with several bloody strikes to the head with a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat.

"I do still think [Glenn’s death] might have been when we over-egged the omelet,” Lincoln said. "Maybe it was lingering too much."

Filming it was among "the most intense nights of shooting I’ve ever been part of," he added, despite the irony that Negan actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan is "one of the nicest guys you’re ever going to meet."

He had to do this extraordinary monologue on his first day at work, and everybody was on their knees and weeping when they weren’t on camera," Lincoln said. "[Morgan] came over and went, ‘Is this normal?’ I went, ‘Yeah, everybody just keeps going.’ It was an extraordinary night."

The main Walking Dead series has now ended but the franchise is far from over. Lincoln himself starts in one spin-off, The Ones Who Live, alongside Danai Gurira as Michonne. This show follows the couple after the events of the original show, and its premiere episodes earned an 8/10 in IGN's review.

Another spin-off follows another fan favorite character, Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon, as he explores post apocalyptic France.

"The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is an enjoyable rehabilitation of the Daryl character, taking him on a hero's journey through France that allows him to open up, enjoy life, be a badass, and genuinely change his zompocalypse footing," IGN said in our 7/10 review.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

EA is delisting Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, and Battlefield: Hardline from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 digital stores on July 31, 2024.

Announced on X/Twitter, the delisting comes ahead of Xbox 360 and PS3 servers for all three games being shut down on November 7, 2024. Thus marks the end of an era for some of the most popular multiplayer shooters of all time.

Players who own the games either physically or digitally will still be able to play their single player portions but all multiplayer modes will cease to be playable. All DLC will similarly be removed from sale on July 31.

Servers for the PC version of Battlefield 3 will be unaffected by the sunsetting, EA clarified, as will Battlefield 4 and Battlefield: Hardline servers on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Battlefield 3 is perhaps the most beloved of the three and will celebrate its 13th birthday just two weeks ahead of the servers going offline. "Battlefield 3 offers an unforgettable, world-class multiplayer suite so fun that it more than makes up for the package’s shortcomings," IGN said in our 9/10 review.

Battlefield 4 arrived as the first entry on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and earned an 8/10 review from IGN, while Battlefield: Hardline arrived later with a cops and robbers theme.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster completely refreshes the original game but fans who don't love the revised character design of protagonist Frank West can switch back to the original — as long as they preorder.

The wholly single player game, which arrives September 19, 2024 at $50 or $60 for the Digital Deluxe Edition, comes with preorder bonuses too, publisher Capcom revealed in an X/Twitter post. Players gain access to the Frank West 2006 skin, the Chuck Greene Skin (from Dead Rising 2), and the Willamette Parkview Mall Bee skin alongside three music tracks.

This bonus content isn't included in the Digital Deluxe Edition content by default either despite it including myriad skin packs including ones from Resident Evil and Mega Man. Capcom hasn't announced post launch pricings for additional content but the original Frank West and other skins will likely be available for an additional cost.

Time to chuck out those dirty clothes and "bee" yourself with some bonus outfits and matching mall music!

Pre-order #DRDR for the Dead Rising Original Pack:
🏍️Chuck Greene
📷Frank West 2006
🐝Willamette Parkview Mall Bee

👚https://t.co/nqffBOad2s pic.twitter.com/d56ZOxRNUl

— Dead Rising (@DeadRising) July 1, 2024

While this is fairly standard for a 2024 video game, many fans have already expressed dislike for the updated Frank West model so will likely be frustrated to hear they can only mitigate that grievance by committing to buy the game early (or perhaps paying extra later).

"2024 Frank West looks like 2006 Frank West in 2024," one fan commented on Reddit. "This Frank West 2006 outfit genuinely fixes the main issue I have with the remaster changes, so it's a bit mad to hide that behind a preorder bonus," X/Twitter user @Toadsanime said. "But at least it's here."

The look isn't the only thing changing, however, as original Frank West voice actor Terence J. Rotolo isn't returning for the remaster. "I simply wasn't called for this mission," he said.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster launches with 4k graphics and 60 frames per second support and running in the RE Engine. Capcom has made quality of live improvements too, "fine tuned" the interface, added autosave functionality, and more.

In our 8/10 review of the original Dead Rising, IGN said: "Though Dead Rising may seem like a simple, mindless game when you first pick it up, it eventually reveals itself as a deeper experience."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Nintendo's stream of lawsuits targeting alleged Nintendo Switch pirates has continued, but the latest defendant doesn't seem too concerned about the colossal company's threats.

As reported by TorrentFreak, Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against modding company Modded Hardware, alleging it "not only offers the hardware and firmware to create and play pirated games" but also provides "customers with copies of pirated Nintendo games."

But the lawsuit comes after Nintendo allegedly offered Modded Hardware owner Ryan Daly an opportunity to walk away. The gaming giant reached out to Daly in March 2024, according to the suit, and both parties agreed that Modded Hardware's business would stop.

It continued to operate as normal, however, and a final warning in May 2024 allegedly didn't go anywhere either. As a result, Nintendo filed a lawsuit with a federal court in Seattle, Washington seeking an immediate closure of Modded Hardware and damages.

"Typically, when a customer purchases a hacked console or the circumvention services, Defendant preinstalls on the console a portfolio of ready-to-play pirated games, including some of Nintendo’s most popular titles such as its Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid games," Nintendo's lawsuit claimed.

"Indeed, because pirated Nintendo Switch games cannot be used or created without a hacked console and related software and hardware, it is only because of products and services such as those sold by Defendant that illegal marketplaces distributing pirated games exist and thrive."

Nintendo also filed a lawsuit against James Williams, known online as Archbox, for an alleged connection to several online "pirate shops" that see illegal copies of Nintendo games sold.

"Defendant is the operator, overseer, and driving force behind several pirate shops, through which Defendant has offered massive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch game," Nintendo claimed. It also referenced the SwitchPirates Reddit community and noted Williams' presence there as a moderator, claiming they helped grow it to nearly 190,000 members and have posted thousands of comments since 2019.

"Defendant’s posts have included, by way of example, messages directing users to the pirate shops; soliciting 'donations' of Nintendo eShop gift cards for the purchase of games (or even soliciting copies of Nintendo Switch games themselves) to be copied and then distributed on pirate shops; and offering technical advice and encouragement to other users about how to use the pirate shops, how to download and install circumvention software, and how to play pirated copies of Nintendo Switch games," the lawsuit claimed.

"Defendant is well aware that his conduct is unlawful and infringes Nintendo’s intellectual property rights. Indeed, Defendant has bragged publicly that he is a ‘pirate’ who ‘[isn’t] going to give Nintendo $50 for a game.'"

Nintendo has consistently taken legal action to protect its copyrighted content. A takedown request in May 2024 saw it target 8,500 copies of Switch emulator Yuzu after the emulator itself was taken down two months prior. Its initial lawsuit against creator Tropic Haze said the $70 game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo's premiere video game release of 2023, had been pirated one million times before it was even released.

Other successful lawsuits include those against game file sharing website RomUniverse, which was ordered to pay $2.1 million in damages to Nintendo in 2021, while a similar case saw it receive more than $12 million in damages in 2018. It also blocked GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin from releasing on PC game platform Steam.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Ubisoft appears to have revived a takedown animation spotted in a 2012 Assassin's Creed 3 demo for upcoming Japan-set Assassin's Creed Shadows.

As reported by GamesRadar, Reddit user BrunoHM noticed similarities between the 2012 PAX East demo of Assassin's Creed 3 and a recent trailer for Assassin's Creed Shadows.

While taking down an enemy, the former's protagonist Connor jumps on their back to stab them before doing a forward roll to continue his momentum. And what appears to be the exact same movement can be seen performed by Assassin's Creed Shadows' dual protagonist Naoe.

"Considering the pivot blade and dynamic seasons returning, I wonder if we have some fans of [Assassin's Creed 3] within [Assassin's Creed Shadows' developer Ubisoft] Quebec," BrunoHM wondered.

What makes the spot even more impressive is that the 2012 Pax East demo wasn't actually released to the public, but instead a behind-the-scenes showing for press and other video game industry insiders. YouTube channel Kuriatsu obtained the footage, however, revealing it (and the animation) to the world.

The takedown didn't make it into the final version of Assassin's Creed 3, which was the first of several set in North America, so fans will perhaps forgive Ubisoft since it's technically not reusing an animation from a past game. Even if it was, of course, it would almost certainly be recreated from the ground up given the 12 year gap between the two games.

Assassin's Creed Shadows was fully revealed in May 2024 as a Japan-set entry where players take control of two protagonists: the stealthy shinobi Naoe and the action-orientated Yasuke, who's a real figure from Japanese history.

IGN had a wealth of exclusive content on the reveal, and you can read about all the gameplay changes, story beats, and open-world assassinating coming with Shadows in our extensive interview with the development team.

If that's not enough, check our analysis and explanation of where and when Shadows is set and 40 key details we've learned about the game. You can also watch our full breakdown of the cinematic trailer to discover all its hidden details, Easter eggs, and more.

Shadows launches November 12, 2024 for those buying the Gold, Ultimate, or Deluxe Editions, while the Standard Edition is available on November 15, 2024.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Despite a handful of Superman set photo leaks appearing online, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has reassured fans they won't spoil a thing.

In posts on Threads, Gunn responded to a series of fans asking about set leaks and rumors, first by confirming that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow star Milly Alock is not currently in Cleveland for Superman filming.

What is in Cleveland, however, is Superman's cast and sets. IGN revealed images of the Daily Planet set in June 2024, for example, while other images emerged and showed David Corenswet as Superman alongside what appeared to be Mister Terrific.

But fans worried about having the highly anticipated film spoiled by set photos like these needn't. When asked for his thoughts on the set leaks, Gunn said they were "fully expected." As a result, he told another fan, the movie has been spoiled "not even a little," he added. "I'd never shoot a big spoiler outside in the middle of the city."

Those looking forward to Superman can therefore rest easy knowing all the important reveals can only be seen when the film premieres on July 11, 2025.

Superman, previously Superman: Legacy, will be the first film in the rebooted DCU's Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, but it's definitely not an origin story and also features a ton of other DC heroes and villains.

Alongside Corenswet's Superman stands Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and the film also stars Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, María Gabriela as The Engineer, and more. Gunn confirmed these actors will play the roles in other DCU projects too.

Chapter 1 of the DCU also features TV shows, and while the exact contents have shuffled a tad since Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran announced it in 2023, an animated series called Creature Commandos will officially kick off the new universe in December 2024.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster brings back the classic zombie game without its original voice actor, who has said publisher Capcom didn't ask him to return.

As reported by ComicBook, original Frank West voice actor Terence J. Rotolo responded to a fan in an Instagram message, shared by @FrankByDaylight on X/Twitter, saying he wasn't contacted by Capcom for the remaster and "the reasons are the producers' own."

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster was announced on June 27, 2024 as, unsurprisingly, a remaster of the original Dead Rising. Capcom released a trailer alongside the announcement too but fans were quick to notice a new voice behind the classic protagonist Frank West.

"The answer to your question is I have no answer," Rotolo said. "All I can say is that I've always been grateful for every opportunity to help bring Frank to life. An actor's job when called upon is to show up prepared, deliver your best, and when done, move on to the next mission. I simply wasn't called for this mission. The reasons are the producers' own."

IGN has asked Capcom for comment.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster launches September 18, 2024 with 4k graphics and 60 frames per second support, running in the RE Engine. Capcom has made quality of live improvements too, "fine tuned" the interface, added autosave functionality, and more.

In our 8/10 review of the original Dead Rising, IGN said: "Though Dead Rising may seem like a simple, mindless game when you first pick it up, it eventually reveals itself as a deeper experience."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The iconic catchphrase "Flame on" is perhaps one of the most famous Marvel lines, and The Fantastic Four's Johnny Storm actor Joseph Quinn has practiced it a lot.

"Flame on" is the line Storm uses before his entire body is engulfed in fire and he turns into The Human Torch, and Quinn is seemingly feeling the heat to get it right ahead of filming for 2025's film, which will see the Fantastic Four finally join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Quinn said he's spent an hour working on the line. And not, like, an hour while doing other things. "One hour, probably, collectively," Quinn said.

Given the line takes barely a second to say, Quinn is implying he's practiced saying "Flame on" about 3,600 times. That's a lot.

His practice will finally be put to good use on July 29, 2024 when filming for The Fantastic Four begins. Unlike its other two film franchises, however, and most of the MCU, the film isn't set in modern day but is instead a 1960s period piece. It's probably not even set in the main MCU timeline.

Alongside Quinn as The Human Torch stands Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. It also stars John Malkovich, Ralph Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne in supporting roles, all of whom can be seen when it premieres July 25, 2025.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Scientists, the original nerd, occasionally like to remind us of that fact by influencing the real world with a geeky reference, this time with a spider named after a flying beastie from Monster Hunter.

As reported by VG247, a newly discovered spider from China has been named the Otacilia Khezu after Khezu, the flying wyvern from Monster Hunter. What do spiders and flying wyverns have in common? Nothing, really, but this spider has no eyes, just like its namesake.

Khezu, which look like fairly normal wyverns from the shoulders down but quickly break that tradition with incredibly long necks, a giant fanged mouth, and retracted eyes due to spending most of their time in darkness, were introduced way back in the original Monster Hunter from 2004.