Over the course of almost four years, developer Experiment 101 has revealed slivers of information about Biomutant, its bonkers open-world adventure. Those tidbits of knowledge form a scattershot, incomplete picture of a freeform RPG that might be a bit Zelda-y. But, thanks to a recent chat with Experiment 101 studio head Stefan Ljungqvist, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of what Biomutant is. “If you like Breath of the Wild, or that type of structure, I think you're really going to enjoy this game,” Ljungqvist tells me, confirming that Zelda suspicion. But as he continues to paint a picture of Biomutant, plenty more games come to mind; Far Cry, Mad Max, Monster Hunter, and even Fallout among them. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/24/biomutant-10-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage"] Biomutant is built around three “facets”; a Tribe War, the world-sustaining Tree of Life, and your character’s backstory. A linear mission chain, designed specifically to provide some structure to the otherwise freeform world, forms the main storyline, and will guide players into these three facets. The open-world nature of the game, though, means you can interact with these aspects however you please, within reason. “There's six tribes in the world,” says Ljungqvist, beginning his breakdown of these facets. “It's kind of a Shadow of Mordor-lite thing going on. I start by allying with one leader from a tribe.” The world is filled with outposts, each owned by one of the six tribes. Conquer these for your chosen tribe, and you’ll begin to amass favour with your new allies. “You gradually become the tribe's champion,” Ljungqvist explains. “You'll be awarded the tribe's special weapon, learn their Wung-Fu style [a special combat technique], and new shops open in respective outposts.” Some outposts even provide access to special mounts, such as the bizarre giant clockwork hand that allows you to scuttle over the landscape akin to Thing from The Addams Family. With all three of a rival tribe’s outposts conquered, you’ll be able to assault their fortress. “At the end of that you can decide the destiny of the rival tribe's Sifu [leader], and that plays back into the choices that you are making that tie into the end-game,” reveals Ljungqvist. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=biomutant-screenshots&captions=true"] Those decisions relate to the second facet, the Tree of Life, the fate of which will ultimately dictate the destiny of Biomutant’s world. To help contextualise your decisions, the tribes you can ally with are either working towards good or evil goals. “A light or ‘good’ tribe wants to unite the other tribes,” Ljungqvist says. “And they want to make sure that the Tree of Life survives, because they believe that you can have a restart in the world that currently is. Whilst the dark tribes believe you have to destroy what you have in order to start anew.” Allying with a light tribe doesn’t permanently lock you into a ‘good’ path. Rather, you can abandon a tribe at any time should you have a change of heart. However, you’ll have to then re-conquer previously dominated outposts in the name of your new tribe. Taking over outposts is a permanent achievement, though, so you won’t have to worry about re-taking camps from counter-attacks. “You don't want to have Starcraft in Zelda,” sums up Ljungqvist. There are bigger foes than just rival tribes, though. The Tree of Life has four roots that span across the world, each leading to a ‘World Eater’ boss; huge monster battles that demand particular tactics and equipment. “You take them on by using a specific vehicle,” explains Ljungqvist. “It can be the Mekton [a mech] or Googlide, which is the water-ski, or a submarine.” “To get those [vehicles], you'll interact with other key characters in the game, to help and get them ready for the fight,” he adds. “Once you've fought those four big World Eaters, and depending on the tribes, or on your light or dark Aura [karma], the destiny of those four World Eaters might be different. Will you allow them to live or not, to destroy the Tree or not?” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/22/15-minutes-of-new-biomutant-gameplay-gamescom-2018"] The final of the three facets is your character’s backstory, which - naturally - Ljungqvist is keeping a mystery. “Who are you, and where did you come from?” he asks rhetorically. “That's the third leg of completing this whole main story, and hopefully people will go out into the world and explore that.” Uncovering that backstory will lead you deeper into Biomutant’s world of strange characters, beasts, and cultures. It’s all built on an eight square-kilometer base; a small map by the standards set by Ljungqvist’s previous work on Just Cause, but still big enough to pack in numerous different biomes. “The world is diamond shaped,” says Ljungqvist. It’s a design chosen to add a natural sense of direction to the player’s journey. “You start in the bottom corner, and the game will become more difficult once you reach the top corner of the diamond,” he explains. By having ‘narrow’ start and end points, you have specific locations for player on-boarding and a story climax. Between those points, the world expands to its furthest reaches, providing the more freeform meat of the adventure. While players are free to explore anywhere on the map after exiting that narrow tutorial corner, some zones are gated and can’t be accessed until later in the story. Well, sort of. “For example in the Dead Zone, you are deprived of oxygen,” says Ljungqvist. “If you get the mech, you can go deeper into the Dead Zone without suffocating.” That mech is provided to you by a character in the story, thus meaning the Dead Zone is a later game location. But curious players may find a way into the Dead Zone hours before the story dictates. “It's open-world, and you can go to any of these characters in any order,” Ljungqvist teases. “Even if you have a main quest marker, you can choose to not take that and meet another character.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/09/02/25-minutes-of-biomutant-gameplay-pax-2017"] Alternatively, players can instead use Biomutant’s gear and mutation systems to help them into those areas. In terms of the Dead Zone, you may be able to find a gas mask. It’s no mech, and so the zone’s biggest challenges may still be beyond you, but at least the air won’t kill you. For areas that demand a little extra height, players without access to the air balloon may seek out the ability to place bouncing mushrooms, or learn to levitate, or use telekinesis, or glide over the obstacle using a wingsuit. It’s in these multiple methods to overcome challenges that you can see Experiment 101’s Breath of the Wild-like aspirations shine through. Many of the aspects that Ljungqvist describes to me in our chat do not break new ground. At least, not on their own. But there’s something about their interconnectedness that intrigues me. In education, 101 typically refers to the first lesson in a subject. The basics. True to its name, Experiment 101 seems to be, well, experimenting with a variety of basic open world ideas in pursuit of something more. There’s a surprising amount of moving parts packed into Biomutant’s modestly sized map, all seemingly linked together. And with its bright, furry aesthetic and kung-fu inspired animation, these familiar parts could come together to feel experimental and new. That’s the feeling on paper. I’ve yet to play Biomutant, so I have no idea if what’s in my head is reflected in the game. But after my chat with Ljungqvist, I believe that Biomutant has much more going for it than just its striking key art and saturday morning cartoon weirdness. I’ll find out if that’s true when it releases in May. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

EA has made over $3 billion from its slate of Star Wars titles, and it isn't planning on slowing down development for how many games it makes within that license – even if it no longer holds the exclusive rights to make them. Speaking during yesterday's EA earnings call (as transcribed by Seeking Alpha), EA CEO Andrew Wilson was asked if the company would be changing how it develops games after seemingly losing the exclusive license to create Star Wars games. "I don’t think you should imagine that the fact that some other people will build some Star Wars games is going to change our commitment to that IP or our ability to build the appropriate number of games," replied Wilson. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/13/open-world-star-wars-game-in-the-works-at-ubisoft-ign-news"] Wilson made clear how valuable Star Wars has been to the company, pointing out that EA Star Wars games have brought in "over $3 billion in net bookings" and 52 million sales since EA began making them (including before that exclusivity deal). Mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes has brought in $1 billion of that amount on its own. Wilson then made clear that the company has no plans to slow down its Star Wars games production: "We’re excited by what we’ll be able to do in the future. But you shouldn’t read this as necessarily us building [fewer] titles." Wilson added that EA will continue to invest in the franchises it's created (we've already got a sense that we'll see a Jedi: Fallen Order sequel), "as well as some new experiences across platforms for the future." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/07/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-start-of-new-franchise-ea-confirms-ign-news"] Star Wars' gaming future has been left wide open after Lucasfilm Games returned as a brand and announced an Ubisoft open world Star Wars game. EA subsequently made clear that it would continue to make Star Wars games. Given that it's aiming to make just as many as it has been, we might be seeing a lot of new Star Wars games in the next few years. Ubisoft Massive's game is still relatively unknown, but job listings have hinted at a few features. Lucasfilm says it has more games to announce as the year goes on. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The game files for Rare’s cancelled GoldenEye 007 Remaster have been shared onto the internet. The remaster, originally planned for release on Xbox 360 via XBLA but eventually cancelled due to a rights issue, was brought to everyone’s attention once again last month via a video showing a full playthrough. But now the files have been posted to archive and sharing sites on the internet, allowing the public to get their hands on the doomed project. As demonstrated by the video uploaded to YouTube, this remaster allows you to swap between original and upgraded visuals, much like the Halo remasters. It runs at 60FPS and can be played at 4K, which is quite a leap beyond the capabilities of the Xbox 360 console for which it was built. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/13/history-of-awesome-goldeneye-007"] In the YouTube video of the remaster, uploader Graslu00 says that they were told the game would be possibly released in some form to the public in 2021. It appears that release has come very quickly. Playing this version requires the use of an emulator or a modded Xbox 360, so it’s important to note that anyone wishing to seek the files out will be dabbling in murky legal waters, not to mention the fact that the game itself has likely leaked from within Rare and can thus be considered stolen property. For legitimate Bond, we can all look forward to Project 007 from Hitman developer IO Interactive. The studio has certainly proven its Bond credentials in Hitman 3. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

IGN spoke exclusively with Quantic Dream's David Cage about how the developer's new studio affects its future, its unannounced AAA game, and its working culture.

Square Enix has reported year-on-year growth in its latest earnings reports, despite operating at a loss on its gaming side for two consecutive quarters. During the nine months ending December 2020, Square reports that it saw an increase in net sales of 33.7% over the same period in 2019. Additionally, the company’s operating income rose by 47.7% to 41,022 million yen. This kept the company profitable, but not quite as healthy as 2019; profits were 4.3% less than the same period last year. Despite this, Square forecasts the full year will eventually result in a more profitable year overall by 12.4%. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/10/marvels-avengers-review"] Factors relating to these figures can be seen in Square Enix’s presentation slides detailing the sales of HD Games across the nine months. In Q1, when the highly successful Final Fantasy 7 Remake launched, net sales were more than double Square’s best period in 2019, at 34.1 billion yen. Operating income also rose in tandem, creating an impressive spike of almost 15 billion yen. But Q2 saw a decline in net sales and a steep drop in operating income, with the company operating at a loss of approximately -6 billion yen. Net sales continued to fall in Q3, amassing 18.8 billion yen, while operating income managed to increase, but still remained at a loss. This decline correlates with the launch of Marvel’s Avengers in Q2, which received mixed reviews and struggled to maintain a healthy player base through Q3. Q3 saw a decline in MMO sales, too, with no major expansions for Final Fantasy 14 or Dragon Quest X, but the division remained in profit thanks to continued revenue generated by players. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/19/marvels-avengers-kate-bishop-trailer"] On the amusements side, Square has managed to recover from a dismal Q1, in which its arcade business was significantly dented by the impact of COVID. Q3 has seen it operate at a profit, and return net sales to similar levels previously seen in 2019. While Marvel’s Avengers was September 2020’s best selling game, Square Enix had yet to recoup its development costs by the end of November. A next-gen version of the game will be released this year, although it remains to be seen if that will turn around its fate. Developer Crystal Dynamics is “confident” that players will return to the game when new modes are added, though. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

A new PS5 system update has resolved an issue that caused PS4 game discs to attempt to install the last-gen version of a game, even if it had already been upgraded. The 20.02-02.50.00 update includes Sony's usual vague disclaimer that it "improves system performance", but adds details of one more specific change: "The following issue was resolved: The PS4 version of the game was sometimes installed from the PS4 game disc even after upgrading the disc version of a PS4 game to the PS5 version." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/how-to-transfer-data-from-your-ps4-to-ps5"] The issue affected cross-gen games such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which saw release on a PS4 disc and would then unlock a PS5 upgrade when used in the newer console. The bug would cause the console to repeatedly attempt to install the PS4 version from the disc, every time it was turned on, despite the PS5 version already being present. It closes another issue with PS4-PS5 upgrades, after fixes for a download queue bug that blocked PS5 version installations, and a new warning system that shows if you're starting a PS4 game on your new console. If you're moving between consoles, we've got a guide on how to transfer save data from your PS4 to PS5. Sony today announced that it shipped 4.5 million PS5s in 2020 - matching the PS4's launch. It's estimated that, in the US, 10-15% of PS5s have been resold for profit. If you've been playing PS4 or PS5, you can check out your personal wrap-up for last year right now to see exactly how much you played. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"]   [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales sold through 4.1 million units in 2020. Revealed during Sony's Q3 FY2020 results, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales contributed to the total PS5 and PS4 game unit sales in 2020 that reached 103.7 million. First-party sales accounted for 18.4 million units sold, which Miles Morales qualifies for. The PlayStation 5 shipped 4.5 million units in 2020, matching the PS4's launch amount in 2013. The PS4, on the other hand, shipped 1.4 million units. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales-review"] For comparison, Marvel's Spider-Man, in 2018, became the fastest-selling PlayStation exclusive of all time with 3.3 million copies sold within the first three days of its release. In our Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales review, we said, "Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales may not be quite as packed with content as the original, but it stands out as an essential story in Insomniac’s Spidey Universe. It earns its spot as a fantastic follow-up, telling a wonderful Miles-specific story while improving upon the fundamentals of the first game with distinctive moves and enemies." Also in 2020, PlayStation Plus saw its subscriber count reach 47.4 million, and there were 114 million monthly active users on the PlayStation Network in the quarter. It was also announced that 87% of PS5 users are subscribed to PlayStation Plus. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] For more on Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, check out the new 60FPS ray tracing mode, what games joined Miles Morales in our list of the best PS5 games, and our complete Wiki guide to help you become the best Spidey you can be. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Sony has announced that the PlayStation 5 shipped 4.5 million units in 2020, matching the PlayStation 4's launch in 2013. Revealed during Sony's Q3 FY2020 results, the game and network services segment of Sony saw a 40% increase year-on-year, in large part due to the launch of the PS5 on November 12, 2020. Sony also confirmed that there was "loss resulting from strategic price points for PS5 hardware that were set lower than manufacturing costs." It also noted that it is still on track to meet its goal of 7.6 million PS5 sales by the end of March 2021. The PS4, which shipped 1.4 million units in the same time frame, saw "higher profit margins" in hardware costs. In the same quarter last year, PS4 shipped 6.0 million units. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/the-state-of-playstation-studios-2021-update"] PS5 and PS4 game unit sales reached 103.7 million, up from 83.3 million in the same quarter in 2019. First-party titles accounted for 18.4 million of the total game sales. Year-on-year, total game sales and first-party game sales are up from 83.3 million and 16.3 million, respectively. While digital game sales were down from 59% to 53% of the total game sales, they were up from the 50% in the same quarter in 2019. It was also announced that Mavel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales sold through approximately 4.1 million units by the end of December 2020. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true"] PlayStation Plus saw its subscriber count reach 47.4 million, and there were 114 million monthly active users on the PlayStation Network in the quarter. Furthermore, 87% of PS5 users are subscribers to PlayStation Plus. For more on PlayStation, check out your PlayStation Wrap Up to see you gaming stats from 2020, the state of PlayStation Studios, and the Best PS5 games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Borderlands developer Gearbox has today announced it will be joining Embracer Group as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swedish holding company formerly known as THQ Nordic AB. The deal, reportedly worth up to US$1.3B, will see Gearbox and its 550 staff in Frisco, Texas and Quebec City become Embracer Group’s seventh official operating group. Embracer’s existing operating groups include THQ Nordic, Saber Interactive, Koch Media, DECA Games, Amplifier Game Invest, and Coffee Stain Holding. “Lars [Wingefors]’s vision of Embracer as an allied partner group committed to fuelling and accelerating the ambitions of a series of decentralized, successful entrepreneurial companies while magnifying the collective value and advantages of diversification across the entire group is the most brilliant strategy and design for short, medium, and long-term success in this industry that I have ever encountered in my 30 years in this industry,” said Gearbox co-founder and CEO Randy Pitchford in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The feeling at Gearbox is that we are just getting started and this transaction is not merely a stimulant for the talent of our employee-owned company, but a propellant for the exciting future we have planned.” Pitchford will continue as Gearbox boss following the merger. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/09/borderlands-3-next-level-mayhem-official-trailer] Embracer has also acquired Austin, Texas-based developer and publisher Aspyr. Aspyr and its 140 staff will operate as a stand-alone entity under Saber Interactive. Gearbox and Aspyr join a long list of acquisitions for Embracer, which spent 2020 scooping up an exhaustive list of developers from all over the world (including 13 companies announced on a single day). Embracer now has access to more than 200 game franchises and more than 5,500 employees.

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Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.

George R.R. Martin has shared an update on The Winds of Winter, the sixth installment of his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire that was adapted into HBO's Game of Thrones, revealing that he's written "hundreds and hundreds" of pages in 2020. Martin explain in a Not a Blog entry that, while he has made a lot of progress in The Winds of Winter, he still has "hundreds of more pages to write to bring the novel to a satisfactory conclusion." Despite that, he claims that 2020 was "the best year I've had on WOW since I began it." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/30/game-of-thrones-prequel-series-house-of-the-dragon-coming-to-hbo"] He hopes to reach this "satisfactory conclusion" in 2021, but makes no predictions on when he will finish the much anticipated novel. "Every time I do, assholes on the internet take that as a 'promise,' and then wait eagerly to crucify me when I miss the deadline. All I will say is that I am hopeful." Martin wrote. Martin also discussed the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on him and his loved ones, Trump, and how he has "a zillion other things to do as well." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=everything-coming-to-hbo-max&captions=true"] Martin shared a similar sentiment last year, hoping that "both COVID-19 and The Winds of Winter will be done" in 2021. For more on Game of Thrones, check out the news of a Game of Thrones animated series, a possible Game of Thrones prequel with a "Tales of Dunk and Egg" series, and what Martin thinks is his favorite Game of Thrones scene. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.