Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have revealed more details on Marvel's Avengers gear, cosmetics, vendors, marketplace, and the premium Hero Challenge Cards, which will cost $10 for each free, post-launch character. This explainer on Gear and Cosmetics began by reiterating that all future updates - including new characters, story content, missions, and regions - will be available for free for all players. Furthermore, while there will be cosmetic content that will be purchasable with real money, it will be aesthetic-only and will not impact gameplay in any way. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-hero-challenge-cards-vendors-and-marketplace&captions=true"]

Marvel Avenger's Hero Challenge Cards and Marketplace

One of the biggest ways to earn a ton of cosmetics is through the Hero Challenge Cards. Each card has 40 tiers of free and premium rewards that are earned by Challenge Points gained from completing daily and weekly challenges. The premium Hero Challenge Card rewards for all six starting heroes - Iron Man, Kamala Khan, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and Black Widow - will be activated for free for all who own Marvel's Avengers. All post-launch character's premium Hero Challenge Cards, however, will cost $10 (1,000 credits) to activate. Although, if you complete the entire card, you will earn back your 1,000 Credit activation cost and earn over 12,500 Credits worth of content. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/10/marvels-avengers-review-in-progress"] This means that post-launch character's like Clint Barton's Hawkeye and Spider-Man - who is PS4 exclusive - will be free for all players, and only extra cosmetics and their premium Hero Challenge Card will cost real-world money. Marvel's Avengers will also feature a Marketplace that will feature "purchasable cosmetics in the form of Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates." Credits will also be required to purchase these items, and a 500 credit pack will cost you $5.00. Credits will come in packs of 500, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000, with bonus credits rewarded for the bigger packs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/05/avengers-spider-man-exclusivity-is-good-for-playstation-bad-for-players-opinion"]

Cosmetics and Vendors

Cosmetic items come in four different varieties - Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates - and many can be earned, crafted, or purchased from vendors. Vendors are narrative-based store operators who set up shop around Marvel's Avengers game world. They will sell Cosmetics, Gear, and Rare Resources in exchange for Units and common Resources. Speaking of Resources, these can be found in-game and will allow you to upgrade your gear. Patterns can also be earned through play and can be used at Fabrication Machines to create an Outfit or Nameplate. Lastly, Units are Marvel's Avengers "soft-currency", which means it is in-game digital currency that has no real-world value and can be found in strongboxes or as rewards for increasing your Faction Level. Gear Vendors will sell you character-specific Gear and Resources in exchange for Fragments, which can be earned by collecting and dismantling Gear. Gear choices will rotate daily and weekly. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/24/marvels-avengers-launch-trailer"] Cosmetic Vendors will take Units from the player in exchange for Outfits, Emotes, and Nameplates. Legendary Outfits will rotate weekly, while Nameplates, Emotes, and Epic & Rare Outfits rotate daily. Marvel's Avengers will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on September 4, 2020. PS5 and Xbox Series X versions will also be released later this year. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-character-combat-breakdown&captions=true"] [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.

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have revealed more details on Marvel's Avengers gear, cosmetics, vendors, marketplace, and the premium Hero Challenge Cards, which will cost $10 for each free, post-launch character. This explainer on Gear and Cosmetics began by reiterating that all future updates - including new characters, story content, missions, and regions - will be available for free for all players. Furthermore, while there will be cosmetic content that will be purchasable with real money, it will be aesthetic-only and will not impact gameplay in any way. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-hero-challenge-cards-vendors-and-marketplace&captions=true"]

Marvel Avenger's Hero Challenge Cards and Marketplace

One of the biggest ways to earn a ton of cosmetics is through the Hero Challenge Cards. Each card has 40 tiers of free and premium rewards that are earned by Challenge Points gained from completing daily and weekly challenges. The premium Hero Challenge Card rewards for all six starting heroes - Iron Man, Kamala Khan, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and Black Widow - will be activated for free for all who own Marvel's Avengers. All post-launch character's premium Hero Challenge Cards, however, will cost $10 (1,000 credits) to activate. Although, if you complete the entire card, you will earn back your 1,000 Credit activation cost and earn over 12,500 Credits worth of content. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/10/marvels-avengers-review-in-progress"] This means that post-launch character's like Clint Barton's Hawkeye and Spider-Man - who is PS4 exclusive - will be free for all players, and only extra cosmetics and their premium Hero Challenge Card will cost real-world money. Marvel's Avengers will also feature a Marketplace that will feature "purchasable cosmetics in the form of Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates." Credits will also be required to purchase these items, and a 500 credit pack will cost you $5.00. Credits will come in packs of 500, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000, with bonus credits rewarded for the bigger packs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/05/avengers-spider-man-exclusivity-is-good-for-playstation-bad-for-players-opinion"]

Cosmetics and Vendors

Cosmetic items come in four different varieties - Outfits, Emotes, Takedowns, and Nameplates - and many can be earned, crafted, or purchased from vendors. Vendors are narrative-based store operators who set up shop around Marvel's Avengers game world. They will sell Cosmetics, Gear, and Rare Resources in exchange for Units and common Resources. Speaking of Resources, these can be found in-game and will allow you to upgrade your gear. Patterns can also be earned through play and can be used at Fabrication Machines to create an Outfit or Nameplate. Lastly, Units are Marvel's Avengers "soft-currency", which means it is in-game digital currency that has no real-world value and can be found in strongboxes or as rewards for increasing your Faction Level. Gear Vendors will sell you character-specific Gear and Resources in exchange for Fragments, which can be earned by collecting and dismantling Gear. Gear choices will rotate daily and weekly. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/24/marvels-avengers-launch-trailer"] Cosmetic Vendors will take Units from the player in exchange for Outfits, Emotes, and Nameplates. Legendary Outfits will rotate weekly, while Nameplates, Emotes, and Epic & Rare Outfits rotate daily. Marvel's Avengers will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on September 4, 2020. PS5 and Xbox Series X versions will also be released later this year. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-character-combat-breakdown&captions=true"] [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 3's next major DLC release is only a few days away from launch, and we now have a new look at the fustercluck fans can expect. As revealed during gamescom 2020, lead writer Connor Thomas Cleary takes a look at the new DLC in the gameplay breakdown for Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, which you can watch below. The new DLC takes players inside the mind of Krieg, the Crimson Raiders' resident psycho, who returns after his appearance in Borderlands 2. Players must travel through warped memories of Krieg's, including The Siege of Castle Crimson, followed by Sapphire's Run featuring an evil train, and then the Benediction of Pain, which essentially serves as Krieg's origin story. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/29/borderlands-3-psycho-krieg-and-the-fantastic-fustercluck-dlc-gameplay-explores-the-warped-memories-of-a-psychos-brain"] Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck will be released on September 10. For more, check out our verdict on the best Borderlands DLC of all time, our review of Borderlands 3's latest DLC Bounty of Blood, and our review of Borderlands 3 itself. There's much, much more to come from gamescom 2020 on IGN - check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Borderlands 3's next major DLC release is only a few days away from launch, and we now have a new look at the fustercluck fans can expect. As revealed during gamescom 2020, lead writer Connor Thomas Cleary takes a look at the new DLC in the gameplay breakdown for Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, which you can watch below. The new DLC takes players inside the mind of Krieg, the Crimson Raiders' resident psycho, who returns after his appearance in Borderlands 2. Players must travel through warped memories of Krieg's, including The Siege of Castle Crimson, followed by Sapphire's Run featuring an evil train, and then the Benediction of Pain, which essentially serves as Krieg's origin story. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/29/borderlands-3-psycho-krieg-and-the-fantastic-fustercluck-dlc-gameplay-explores-the-warped-memories-of-a-psychos-brain"] Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck will be released on September 10. For more, check out our verdict on the best Borderlands DLC of all time, our review of Borderlands 3's latest DLC Bounty of Blood, and our review of Borderlands 3 itself. There's much, much more to come from gamescom 2020 on IGN - check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Vigor is set to hit PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch throughout the rest of 2020, as revealed in a new trailer. Showcased during IGN's gamescom 2020 live show, Vigor will become free-to-play on the Nintendo Switch on September 23, and is set for release on PS4 on November 25 and sometime this holiday for PS5. Check out the trailer below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/29/free-to-play-shooter-looter-vigor-coming-to-nintendo-switch"] Vigor was released on Switch earlier this year for a $19.99 price point, and has previously been available for Xbox One. Vigor was first revealed back in 2018 and later launched into an early access period. The survival action game tasks players with building shelters and staying alive in an apocalyptic Norway. Make sure to check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Vigor is set to hit PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch throughout the rest of 2020, as revealed in a new trailer. Showcased during IGN's gamescom 2020 live show, Vigor will become free-to-play on the Nintendo Switch on September 23, and is set for release on PS4 on November 25 and sometime this holiday for PS5. Check out the trailer below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/29/free-to-play-shooter-looter-vigor-coming-to-nintendo-switch"] Vigor was released on Switch earlier this year for a $19.99 price point, and has previously been available for Xbox One. Vigor was first revealed back in 2018 and later launched into an early access period. The survival action game tasks players with building shelters and staying alive in an apocalyptic Norway. Make sure to check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is an upcoming metroidvania first debuted earlier this year, and now we have an extended look at the adventure to come. As revealed in IGN's gamescom 2020 showcase, the new trailer for F.I.S.T. (below) shows off a range of gameplay from a mid-game level, with a particular focus on the variety of enemies and different weapon types (and how they can aid in platforming, such as the drill's changes to fall speed, and the whip's multiple additional jumps): [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/29/devs-explain-fist-forged-in-shadow-torch-metroidvania-gameplay"] F.I.S.T. is set for a PS4 and PC release, offering players a new dieselpunk-inspired platforming action adventure. In this new, original world, animals fight back against an invasion of machine-like creatures. F.I.S.T. puts a heavy emphasis on exploration of its world with plenty of secrets to uncover, along side arcade-style action as players take on the role of Rayton, a veteran rabbit who has spent years in hiding. Make sure to check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is an upcoming metroidvania first debuted earlier this year, and now we have an extended look at the adventure to come. As revealed in IGN's gamescom 2020 showcase, the new trailer for F.I.S.T. (below) shows off a range of gameplay from a mid-game level, with a particular focus on the variety of enemies and different weapon types (and how they can aid in platforming, such as the drill's changes to fall speed, and the whip's multiple additional jumps): [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/29/devs-explain-fist-forged-in-shadow-torch-metroidvania-gameplay"] F.I.S.T. is set for a PS4 and PC release, offering players a new dieselpunk-inspired platforming action adventure. In this new, original world, animals fight back against an invasion of machine-like creatures. F.I.S.T. puts a heavy emphasis on exploration of its world with plenty of secrets to uncover, along side arcade-style action as players take on the role of Rayton, a veteran rabbit who has spent years in hiding. Make sure to check out our full gamescom schedule to find out what else is on the way and our roundup of gamescom 2020 highlights. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Following the release of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC, Sony is looking into the idea of bringing more of its first-party games to PC. In Sony's 2020 corporate report, it states that it will "explore expanding our 1st party titles to the PC platform, in order to promote further growth in our profitability." It's important to note that this most likely would mean that Sony would look to port older titles, such as 2018's God of War, as opposed to brand new releases. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/03/horizon-zero-dawn-complete-edition-pc-features-trailer"] Horizon Zero Dawn, for example, was released in 2017 and didn't make its way to PC until 2020, right around the reveal of its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. This move by Sony could get other consumers interested in their first-party games, who would then possibly feel the need to switch over to the PlayStation ecosystem to play the next entries in those series. PS4 exclusives Death Stranding and Detroit: Become Human also were released on PC, but those were published by 505 Games and Epic Games, respectively. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=state-of-playstation-first-party-studios&captions=true"] Sony's strategy on bringing its first-party games to PC is a bit different than Microsoft, as its Xbox Play Anywhere initiative ensures that most of the biggest games in its portfolio are playable on both Xbox One and PC. [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.

Following the release of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC, Sony is looking into the idea of bringing more of its first-party games to PC. In Sony's 2020 corporate report, it states that it will "explore expanding our 1st party titles to the PC platform, in order to promote further growth in our profitability." It's important to note that this most likely would mean that Sony would look to port older titles, such as 2018's God of War, as opposed to brand new releases. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/03/horizon-zero-dawn-complete-edition-pc-features-trailer"] Horizon Zero Dawn, for example, was released in 2017 and didn't make its way to PC until 2020, right around the reveal of its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. This move by Sony could get other consumers interested in their first-party games, who would then possibly feel the need to switch over to the PlayStation ecosystem to play the next entries in those series. PS4 exclusives Death Stranding and Detroit: Become Human also were released on PC, but those were published by 505 Games and Epic Games, respectively. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=state-of-playstation-first-party-studios&captions=true"] Sony's strategy on bringing its first-party games to PC is a bit different than Microsoft, as its Xbox Play Anywhere initiative ensures that most of the biggest games in its portfolio are playable on both Xbox One and PC. [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.