Marvel’s Avengers Hasn’t Recouped Its Development Costs Yet

Marvel's Avengers sales have been lower than expected, and the game hasn't yet recouped its development costs, leading to an estimated ¥7 billion (approximately $67 million USD) operating loss in Square Enix's HD Games segment during the last financial quarter. Company president Yosuke Matsude explained in a newly translated results briefing, "Sales of Marvel’s Avengers were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game’s development costs." Game analyst David Gibson previously explained that the company sold 60% of its planned units, and that the numbers implied the game cost around $100 million to make. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/10/marvels-avengers-review"] Responding to an investor's question on the subject, Matsuda clarified that - had Avengers not been released in that quarter - the company would have made a profit. That comes down to both development and marketing costs: "In addition to the amortization of that game’s development costs," explained Matsuda, "another significant factor associated with the title was the fact that we undertook a major advertising campaign at the time of its launch to make up for delays in our marketing efforts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a certain amount of development costs still to be amortized in 3Q, but we want to recoup it by growing our sales going forward." Matsuda doesn't offer concrete plans, but said the hope is that updates will help drive new sales: "We hope to make up for slow initial sales by offering ample additional content to grow our sales." Last week, developer Crystal Dynamics announced the December release date for its first post-launch hero and campaign, announced another, and potentially teased other heroes to come beyond that. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/19/marvels-avengers-kate-bishop-trailer"] [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.

Fallout 76 Accidentally Releases New Update on Xbox

Bethesda has launched the Fallout 76 Steel Dawn update early, after a glitch allowed Xbox players to download the update ahead of schedule. In a post on the Fallout blog. Bethesda explained that the Steel Dawn update was originally scheduled to go live on December 1 across all platforms, but the Brotherhood of Steel-themed expansion is available now for all platforms following the mistake. Essentially, players on Xbox platforms could download Steel Dawn, but it meant that this prevented them from playing the rest of the game. Bethesda was actively investigating the issue before making the decision. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/20/final-fallout-76-review"] According to the blog post, "the entire BGS team felt confident that Steel Dawn is ready to go," so instead of fixing the early access Xbox issue, they have now launched the update for everyone, a week ahead of schedule. The new update brings with it a questline that introduces The Brotherhood of Steel to Appalachia, as well as C.A.M.P Shelters, which are customizable underground bases. You can check the full update notes for more details, and see the file size required for the platform you plan to download Steel Dawn on. If you're just getting into the game, check out our article explaining everything you need to know about the factions system in Fallout 76. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Fallout 76 Accidentally Releases New Update on Xbox

Bethesda has launched the Fallout 76 Steel Dawn update early, after a glitch allowed Xbox players to download the update ahead of schedule. In a post on the Fallout blog. Bethesda explained that the Steel Dawn update was originally scheduled to go live on December 1 across all platforms, but the Brotherhood of Steel-themed expansion is available now for all platforms following the mistake. Essentially, players on Xbox platforms could download Steel Dawn, but it meant that this prevented them from playing the rest of the game. Bethesda was actively investigating the issue before making the decision. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/20/final-fallout-76-review"] According to the blog post, "the entire BGS team felt confident that Steel Dawn is ready to go," so instead of fixing the early access Xbox issue, they have now launched the update for everyone, a week ahead of schedule. The new update brings with it a questline that introduces The Brotherhood of Steel to Appalachia, as well as C.A.M.P Shelters, which are customizable underground bases. You can check the full update notes for more details, and see the file size required for the platform you plan to download Steel Dawn on. If you're just getting into the game, check out our article explaining everything you need to know about the factions system in Fallout 76. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

PS5 Gets a Second Performance-Improving System Update

For the second week running, Sony has dropped a PS5 system update designed to improve system performance - but it's still unclear what the patch specifically changes. The 20.02-02.26.00 system update weighs in at 886MB and, like last week's update, its details read simply: "This system software update improves system performance." If you want to download the update manually, head to: Settings > System > System Software > System Software Update and Settings > Update System Software. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/20/sony-shares-solution-for-ps5-downloading-queue-bug-ign-news"] Sony traditionally doesn't comment on the contents of its system updates, and hasn't responded to requests for comment on the recent patches either. Last week's patch did appear to help solve the download queue bug that had affected PS5 players since launch. It may be that we now see new fixes for the other PS5 issues that have been reported in recent weeks, although nothing has been confirmed at time of writing. If you're in the market for a PS5, or games and accessories for your new console, Black Friday could be the right time to find them. Make sure to check out our best Black Friday PS5 deals, and our best video game deals. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-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.

PS5 Gets a Second Performance-Improving System Update

For the second week running, Sony has dropped a PS5 system update designed to improve system performance - but it's still unclear what the patch specifically changes. The 20.02-02.26.00 system update weighs in at 886MB and, like last week's update, its details read simply: "This system software update improves system performance." If you want to download the update manually, head to: Settings > System > System Software > System Software Update and Settings > Update System Software. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/20/sony-shares-solution-for-ps5-downloading-queue-bug-ign-news"] Sony traditionally doesn't comment on the contents of its system updates, and hasn't responded to requests for comment on the recent patches either. Last week's patch did appear to help solve the download queue bug that had affected PS5 players since launch. It may be that we now see new fixes for the other PS5 issues that have been reported in recent weeks, although nothing has been confirmed at time of writing. If you're in the market for a PS5, or games and accessories for your new console, Black Friday could be the right time to find them. Make sure to check out our best Black Friday PS5 deals, and our best video game deals. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-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.

Destiny 2 Beyond Light Review – Time Loop

My six-player Destiny 2 fireteam fired away as the Deep Stone Crypt raid boss, the toughest enemy of the Beyond Light expansion, teleported around the arena and roared with rage. We threw everything we had left at the flying monster in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat. Bullets and grenades filled the air as chunks of orbital debris slammed down onto the landscape, threatening to crush us as we scrambled for cover. It was now or never--if we didn't manage to kill this thing immediately, it would kill us, and we'd be back to the start of the lengthy fight. And we'd sunk more than 12 hours into the raid over the past two days already.

But then: an explosion. The boss twisted in pain and a cheer went up from our crew. Finally, we'd bested the greatest challenge of the new expansion, after hours of struggling to work out the mechanics and suffering death after death to its powerful enemies. It's moments like this one that keep me coming back to Destiny 2. There's nothing quite like powering through a Destiny raid, relying on teammates to handle complex roles and cooperate through some of the game's most creative designs.

Beyond Light provides more of what Destiny 2 is good at: satisfying first-person shooting, a great raid, fascinating places to explore, and a whole lot of punchy guns to try out. It also maintains some of the game's lingering problems though, like a reliance on repetitive content and time-sucking grinds to arbitrarily raise numbers. To put it simply, Beyond Light is largely more Destiny--if that's a thing you like, you'll enjoy it, and if it's a thing you complain about, you probably won't.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Destiny 2 Beyond Light Review – Time Loop

My six-player Destiny 2 fireteam fired away as the Deep Stone Crypt raid boss, the toughest enemy of the Beyond Light expansion, teleported around the arena and roared with rage. We threw everything we had left at the flying monster in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat. Bullets and grenades filled the air as chunks of orbital debris slammed down onto the landscape, threatening to crush us as we scrambled for cover. It was now or never--if we didn't manage to kill this thing immediately, it would kill us, and we'd be back to the start of the lengthy fight. And we'd sunk more than 12 hours into the raid over the past two days already.

But then: an explosion. The boss twisted in pain and a cheer went up from our crew. Finally, we'd bested the greatest challenge of the new expansion, after hours of struggling to work out the mechanics and suffering death after death to its powerful enemies. It's moments like this one that keep me coming back to Destiny 2. There's nothing quite like powering through a Destiny raid, relying on teammates to handle complex roles and cooperate through some of the game's most creative designs.

Beyond Light provides more of what Destiny 2 is good at: satisfying first-person shooting, a great raid, fascinating places to explore, and a whole lot of punchy guns to try out. It also maintains some of the game's lingering problems though, like a reliance on repetitive content and time-sucking grinds to arbitrarily raise numbers. To put it simply, Beyond Light is largely more Destiny--if that's a thing you like, you'll enjoy it, and if it's a thing you complain about, you probably won't.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Getting Monster Hunter Movie Crossover DLC

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is getting a crossover with the Monster Hunter movie. From December 4, you'll be able to play as Milla Jovovich's Lieutenant Artemis in a two-part Event Quest inspired by the upcoming Paul W.S. Anderson film. Announced today, Jovovich lends her voice to the in-game Artemis, with the quests setting players against a Black Diablos and a Greater Rathalos in turn. Completing the quests will earn you layered armour, new titles, Guild card background and pose, and "special gear" – but you'll only be able to take on the quests if you've reached Master Rank. Before the event, players will be able to claim a free item pack as a log-on bonus to celebrate the film, starting from November 27. Take a look at an exclusive behind-the-scenes sizzle reel with Milla Jovovich below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/25/monster-hunter-behind-the-scenes-with-artemis-milla-jovovich"] The Monster Hunter movie – out on December 4 in the UK, December 25 in the US, and January 1 in Australia – aims to bring communicate the feeling of Monster Hunter World in movie form. It tells the story of Artemis, a US soldier mysteriously transported to the world of Monster Hunter, where she meets Tony Jaa's unnamed Hunter. After some slightly un-Monster Hunter-y trailers, a recent Chinese trailer was praised for showing a much more familiar-looking movie, right down to its inclusion of Palicoes. It's clearly been fertile ground fot Anderson, as there are already ideas for a sequel in the offing. This is far from the first crossover for Monster Hunter World - we've already seen Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn (twice), Mega Man, Dante from Devil May Cry, and more. [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.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Getting Monster Hunter Movie Crossover DLC

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is getting a crossover with the Monster Hunter movie. From December 4, you'll be able to play as Milla Jovovich's Lieutenant Artemis in a two-part Event Quest inspired by the upcoming Paul W.S. Anderson film. Announced today, Jovovich lends her voice to the in-game Artemis, with the quests setting players against a Black Diablos and a Greater Rathalos in turn. Completing the quests will earn you layered armour, new titles, Guild card background and pose, and "special gear" – but you'll only be able to take on the quests if you've reached Master Rank. Before the event, players will be able to claim a free item pack as a log-on bonus to celebrate the film, starting from November 27. Take a look at an exclusive behind-the-scenes sizzle reel with Milla Jovovich below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/25/monster-hunter-behind-the-scenes-with-artemis-milla-jovovich"] The Monster Hunter movie – out on December 4 in the UK, December 25 in the US, and January 1 in Australia – aims to bring communicate the feeling of Monster Hunter World in movie form. It tells the story of Artemis, a US soldier mysteriously transported to the world of Monster Hunter, where she meets Tony Jaa's unnamed Hunter. After some slightly un-Monster Hunter-y trailers, a recent Chinese trailer was praised for showing a much more familiar-looking movie, right down to its inclusion of Palicoes. It's clearly been fertile ground fot Anderson, as there are already ideas for a sequel in the offing. This is far from the first crossover for Monster Hunter World - we've already seen Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn (twice), Mega Man, Dante from Devil May Cry, and more. [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 Expanse Renewed for Sixth and Final Season

The Expanse has been renewed for a sixth and final season on Amazon Prime. The news comes less than a month before the season 5 premiere on December 16. The news was announced in a press release sent out on Tuesday. Showrunner Naren Shankar shared his love for the show's fans and the show's creative team in a statement. "The dedication and artistry of everyone who helps bring The Expanse to the screen is incredible,” Shankar said. “Our fans are awesome, and we cannot wait to get rolling on Season Six!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/08/the-expanse-season-5-official-trailer-2020-steven-strait-dominique-tipper"] The Expanse is based on a series of novels of the same name. Eight novels have been released in the main series since 2011. The ninth and final book in the series is set for release in 2021. The Expanse TV series follows the books with each season mostly adapting a single book in the series. Season 4 adapted the fourth book and season 5 is expected to adapt the fifth book. Fans of the novels know that the seventh book picks up in a time where it would make sense to stop the TV show at the sixth book. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/05/16/fans-of-the-expanse-rent-a-plane-to-fly-over-amazon-studios"] Vernon Sanders, co-head of television at Amazon Studios, said in a statement that fans of the show will get a conclusive ending. "We’re very happy we can give the incredibly loyal and passionate fans of The Expanse the satisfying conclusion to the series that they deserve," Sanders said. "We know they’ll love how Seasons Five and Six unfold.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-tv-shows-of-the-decade-2010-2019&captions=true"] The Expanse season 4 was one of the best-reviewed shows of 2019. In our review of season 4, which was the first season after Amazon picked up the series after its cancellation, we said the show "is sci-fi at its best, filled with dynamic characters and fascinating new worlds to explore." The Expanse placed on IGN's list of the best shows of the decade. The season 5 trailer debuted in October with the announcement of a premiere date. Three episodes will drop on December 16 with a new episode each week through February 3, 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.