An article written by Square Enix Producer Naoki Yoshida has detailed the world and story of Final Fantasy XVI, and introduced us to heroes Clive, Joshua, and Jill. You can read the post in full over on the PlayStation Blog, where you can check out some artwork from the game and learn more about the motivations of the trio of main characters, as well as the world they inhabit. You can also check out the official Final Fantasy XVI website, which reveals even more details about the game's setting and cast, and the game's tagline: "The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough." Final Fantasy XVI takes place in Valisthea, a land "studded with colossal mountains of glittering crystal called Mothercrystals." The Mothercrystals have blessed the realms with aether for generations, allowing Valisthea's people to live in comfort. Of course, wars have been fought over the ownership of the Mothercrystals, which has created a set of conflicting nations, known as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic and the Iron Kingdom. A "ruinous Blight" has recently overcome the land, which is threatening to disturb the "fragile peace" achieved between the warring states. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-xvi-characters-and-world&captions=true"] The game's main protagonist is Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria. Rosfield is a knight known as the "First Shield of Rosaria" who is tasked with protecting his younger brother Joshua, described as "the Dominant of the Phoenix." A Dominant is a special person who is essentially a vessel for devastating creatures called Eikons, special Summons that "can level nations." Depending on the nation, Dominants are treated as royalty or used as weapons of war. The blog notes that more Eikons will be revealed in the main game as players journey through Valisthea. It was expected that Clive would become the Dominant of Rosaria, but destiny chose Joshua, who can transform into a Phoenix to protect his nation. Joshua has bestowed Clive with "the Blessing of the Phoenix," which allows the protagonist to "wield a part of the Eikon's fire." Joshua also "quails at the sight of a carrot on his dinner plate," and laments the fact that he, the more frail Rosfield brother, received the Eikon's power. Then there's Jill Warrick, a confidant of the brothers who is an expatriate from the Northern Territories and ward of the Duchy of Rosaria in order to sow peace between the two factions. She's a member of the Rosfield household and a close childhood friend of the brothers. Final Fantasy XVI was announced for PS5 back in September of this year, and has already completed "basic development", with the next big reveal event relating to the game coming in 2021. It's still a matter of conjecture as to whether the game will come to PC, after its announcement for the platform was scrubbed. You can watch the game's first trailer here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

An article written by Square Enix Producer Naoki Yoshida has detailed the world and story of Final Fantasy XVI, and introduced us to heroes Clive, Joshua, and Jill. You can read the post in full over on the PlayStation Blog, where you can check out some artwork from the game and learn more about the motivations of the trio of main characters, as well as the world they inhabit. You can also check out the official Final Fantasy XVI website, which reveals even more details about the game's setting and cast, and the game's tagline: "The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough." Final Fantasy XVI takes place in Valisthea, a land "studded with colossal mountains of glittering crystal called Mothercrystals." The Mothercrystals have blessed the realms with aether for generations, allowing Valisthea's people to live in comfort. Of course, wars have been fought over the ownership of the Mothercrystals, which has created a set of conflicting nations, known as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic and the Iron Kingdom. A "ruinous Blight" has recently overcome the land, which is threatening to disturb the "fragile peace" achieved between the warring states. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-xvi-characters-and-world&captions=true"] The game's main protagonist is Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria. Rosfield is a knight known as the "First Shield of Rosaria" who is tasked with protecting his younger brother Joshua, described as "the Dominant of the Phoenix." A Dominant is a special person who is essentially a vessel for devastating creatures called Eikons, special Summons that "can level nations." Depending on the nation, Dominants are treated as royalty or used as weapons of war. The blog notes that more Eikons will be revealed in the main game as players journey through Valisthea. It was expected that Clive would become the Dominant of Rosaria, but destiny chose Joshua, who can transform into a Phoenix to protect his nation. Joshua has bestowed Clive with "the Blessing of the Phoenix," which allows the protagonist to "wield a part of the Eikon's fire." Joshua also "quails at the sight of a carrot on his dinner plate," and laments the fact that he, the more frail Rosfield brother, received the Eikon's power. Then there's Jill Warrick, a confidant of the brothers who is an expatriate from the Northern Territories and ward of the Duchy of Rosaria in order to sow peace between the two factions. She's a member of the Rosfield household and a close childhood friend of the brothers. Final Fantasy XVI was announced for PS5 back in September of this year, and has already completed "basic development", with the next big reveal event relating to the game coming in 2021. It's still a matter of conjecture as to whether the game will come to PC, after its announcement for the platform was scrubbed. You can watch the game's first trailer here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Xbox is leaning heavily into the memes by not only acknowledging the fact that its next-gen console looks like a refrigerator, but now it is actually giving away an Xbox Series X-themed refrigerator. There's even an official world premiere video for the kitchen monolith. Announced via Xbox's official Twitter account, the Xbox Series X Fridge is part of a sweepstakes that begins today and ends November 4, 2020 at 7:00 PM PST.

The one. The only. Xbox Series X Fridge giveaway. Follow and retweet with #XSXFridgeSweeps for a chance to win the Xbox Series X Fridge. Ends 11/04/20. Rules: https://t.co/4P5hCSBPcy pic.twitter.com/MAt7xcTTQ4

— Xbox (@Xbox) October 28, 2020

Microsoft recently sent Snoop Dogg an Xbox Series X Fridge for his birthday - as well as a number of other celebrities and influencers - as part of its marketing for the upcoming next generation of consoles. The black refrigerator is shaped just like the Xbox Series X (or is it the other way around?) and features a light-up Xbox logo in the top left corner, as well as what has to be the world's largest disc drive. The inside is fully illuminated with green lighting, because why not, right? [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/xbox-series-x-console-unboxing] Jokes have been circulating about the Xbox Series X and its resemblance to a certain kitchen appliance since it was revealed during The Game Awards in 2019. Microsoft even added a "fridge for scale" image alongside one the put the Xbox Series X next to a banana. Microsoft explained in an interview earlier this year that the design is in fact to help with cooling, not unlike a refrigerator. It seems the two have more in common than we initially thought. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] For more Xbox news, check out how Microsoft has tested over 500,000 hours of backwards compatibility and our recent unboxing of the Xbox Series X. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Xbox is leaning heavily into the memes by not only acknowledging the fact that its next-gen console looks like a refrigerator, but now it is actually giving away an Xbox Series X-themed refrigerator. There's even an official world premiere video for the kitchen monolith. Announced via Xbox's official Twitter account, the Xbox Series X Fridge is part of a sweepstakes that begins today and ends November 4, 2020 at 7:00 PM PST.

The one. The only. Xbox Series X Fridge giveaway. Follow and retweet with #XSXFridgeSweeps for a chance to win the Xbox Series X Fridge. Ends 11/04/20. Rules: https://t.co/4P5hCSBPcy pic.twitter.com/MAt7xcTTQ4

— Xbox (@Xbox) October 28, 2020

Microsoft recently sent Snoop Dogg an Xbox Series X Fridge for his birthday - as well as a number of other celebrities and influencers - as part of its marketing for the upcoming next generation of consoles. The black refrigerator is shaped just like the Xbox Series X (or is it the other way around?) and features a light-up Xbox logo in the top left corner, as well as what has to be the world's largest disc drive. The inside is fully illuminated with green lighting, because why not, right? [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/xbox-series-x-console-unboxing] Jokes have been circulating about the Xbox Series X and its resemblance to a certain kitchen appliance since it was revealed during The Game Awards in 2019. Microsoft even added a "fridge for scale" image alongside one the put the Xbox Series X next to a banana. Microsoft explained in an interview earlier this year that the design is in fact to help with cooling, not unlike a refrigerator. It seems the two have more in common than we initially thought. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] For more Xbox news, check out how Microsoft has tested over 500,000 hours of backwards compatibility and our recent unboxing of the Xbox Series X. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Path of Exile’s 3.13 end-game expansion has been delayed until January because, as the developers explain in a new blog post, the original release date now coincides with Cyberpunk 2077’s new release date. “Yesterday, CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 will now be released on December 10,” designer Chris Wilson writes in a new blog post. “We do not want to put our players in a position of having to choose between these two games, so we have decided to step out of the way and delay the release of Path of Exile 3.13 until January.” The original release date for the 3.13 update was December 11.

We were previously targeting a launch date of December 11 for our 3.13 expansion. Yesterday, CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 will now be released on December 10. We have decided to delay the release of Path of Exile 3.13 until January.https://t.co/Jw7PXnd4Bf pic.twitter.com/sL3npV4eH6

— Path of Exile (@pathofexile) October 28, 2020

Wilson says that the dev team still expects Path of Exile 3.13 to be finished by early to mid-December, but the team will begin working on the 3.14 expansion during the month of delay. Grinding Gear Games will put out a multi-week event for Path of Exile players over Christmas and New Year break as a replacement for the planned expansion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/23/path-of-exile-review-2018"] The developers also caution that the delay will have a slight domino effect and will “probably cause” the release schedule to change a little bit during 2021 to accommodate the delay. Meanwhile, the shockwaves of Cyberpunk 2077’s latest delay is still being felt, not in the least by CD Projekt Red’s own social media team. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Path of Exile’s 3.13 end-game expansion has been delayed until January because, as the developers explain in a new blog post, the original release date now coincides with Cyberpunk 2077’s new release date. “Yesterday, CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 will now be released on December 10,” designer Chris Wilson writes in a new blog post. “We do not want to put our players in a position of having to choose between these two games, so we have decided to step out of the way and delay the release of Path of Exile 3.13 until January.” The original release date for the 3.13 update was December 11.

We were previously targeting a launch date of December 11 for our 3.13 expansion. Yesterday, CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 will now be released on December 10. We have decided to delay the release of Path of Exile 3.13 until January.https://t.co/Jw7PXnd4Bf pic.twitter.com/sL3npV4eH6

— Path of Exile (@pathofexile) October 28, 2020

Wilson says that the dev team still expects Path of Exile 3.13 to be finished by early to mid-December, but the team will begin working on the 3.14 expansion during the month of delay. Grinding Gear Games will put out a multi-week event for Path of Exile players over Christmas and New Year break as a replacement for the planned expansion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/23/path-of-exile-review-2018"] The developers also caution that the delay will have a slight domino effect and will “probably cause” the release schedule to change a little bit during 2021 to accommodate the delay. Meanwhile, the shockwaves of Cyberpunk 2077’s latest delay is still being felt, not in the least by CD Projekt Red’s own social media team. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Max Scoville, and Mitchell Saltzman to discuss our first hands-on experience with the PS5. We have the PS5, so we offer a look and description of the hardware, and our thoughts on the Cooling Springs level of Astro's Playroom and the DualSense controller's new haptic feedback. Plus, we dive into the Destruction AllStars and Cyberpunk 2077 delays, and more! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-console-first-look-size-comparison&captions=true"]

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out the PS5 full specs list, why we're excited about PS5's 3D audio focus, and an analysis of what teraflops really mean for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=0b8b1f86-da52-4fef-b0a7-2729ca596785"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

On this week's episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Max Scoville, and Mitchell Saltzman to discuss our first hands-on experience with the PS5. We have the PS5, so we offer a look and description of the hardware, and our thoughts on the Cooling Springs level of Astro's Playroom and the DualSense controller's new haptic feedback. Plus, we dive into the Destruction AllStars and Cyberpunk 2077 delays, and more! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-console-first-look-size-comparison&captions=true"]

• Direct Download

• YouTube

•  Apple Podcasts/iTunes

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• PlayerFM

• Podbay

• TuneIn

• Podbean

• Feedburner

Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out the PS5 full specs list, why we're excited about PS5's 3D audio focus, and an analysis of what teraflops really mean for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=0b8b1f86-da52-4fef-b0a7-2729ca596785"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The Ascent, which was once set to be a launch title for both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, will now be released in 2021. Originally revealed at Microsoft's first next-gen Inside Xbox broadcast, The Ascent is an action-RPG set in a cyberpunk world and appears to be a wonderful mashup of Diablo and Judge Dredd, as we have previously noted. Developer Neon Giant has also shared a new video that showcases the development and highlights a few features coming to The Ascent when it is released on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC in 2021. It will also be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/the-ascent-neon-giants-developer-walkthrough"] We featured The Ascent as our IGN First game for May 2020 and took a look at gameplay, concept art, how it originally became an Xbox Series X launch exclusive, and much more. The Ascent has you taking on the role of an indentured worker who will dive deep into 'The Ascent Group' arcology, a self-contained corporate-run metropolis stretches high into the sky and is filled with "creatures from all over the galaxy." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-ascent-exclusive-next-gen-screenshots-and-concept-art&captions=true"] It's an adventure that can be played solo or with up to four players in co-op modes and is targeting 60 fps and full 4K support on Xbox Series X alongside "amazing gameplay performance for the new generation of console players." [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.

The Ascent, which was once set to be a launch title for both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, will now be released in 2021. Originally revealed at Microsoft's first next-gen Inside Xbox broadcast, The Ascent is an action-RPG set in a cyberpunk world and appears to be a wonderful mashup of Diablo and Judge Dredd, as we have previously noted. Developer Neon Giant has also shared a new video that showcases the development and highlights a few features coming to The Ascent when it is released on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC in 2021. It will also be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/the-ascent-neon-giants-developer-walkthrough"] We featured The Ascent as our IGN First game for May 2020 and took a look at gameplay, concept art, how it originally became an Xbox Series X launch exclusive, and much more. The Ascent has you taking on the role of an indentured worker who will dive deep into 'The Ascent Group' arcology, a self-contained corporate-run metropolis stretches high into the sky and is filled with "creatures from all over the galaxy." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-ascent-exclusive-next-gen-screenshots-and-concept-art&captions=true"] It's an adventure that can be played solo or with up to four players in co-op modes and is targeting 60 fps and full 4K support on Xbox Series X alongside "amazing gameplay performance for the new generation of console players." [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.