Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are introducing a brand new way to battle with other pocket monsters that doesn't require any input from the trainer whatsoever.

Auto Battles take place through a new feature called Let's Go that lets players send off their partner Pokémon to explore the nearby area, during which they can take on wild Pokémon in their own fights.

Announced on the Pokémon website following a new trailer (below) being released, Auto Battles (as the name suggests) take place independently of the player's involvement. This means that, while you can stick around and watch your Pokémon battle another, you can also walk away and explore the area.

"You can have one Pokémon out and walking with you in the Paldea region’s great outdoors," the website reads. "When you have a Pokémon exploring with you in the field, you can use the 'Let’s Go' feature to send that Pokémon off in the direction you indicate. The Pokémon you send out then independently picks up items in the area and even has Auto Battles with nearby Pokémon."

Auto Battles also let the Pokémon earn experience points, though it's unclear if there's a limit to the time or number of battles it can engage in before requiring another command from the player.

This isn't the only news that came out of the new trailer, however, as Nintendo also announced a new limited edition Pokémon Scarlet and Violet OLED Nintendo Switch console. It also showed off the three major stories that players can pursue in the new games, taking advantage of the series-first open world.

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

Fans may have waited two decades for a Final Fantasy 7 remake – but a new PC mod has reverted 2020's uprezzed heroes back to the original PlayStation game's low-poly graphics.

As reported by PC Gamer, Nexus Mods user FantasyRaider has created a mod that turns Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret and Yuffie back to their original, pointy Final Fantasy 7 appearances.

The characters will appear in their low-poly forms - which are technically taken from the Windows 1998 version of the game (evidenced by their mouths that don't appear in the original) throughout both gameplay and in-engine cutscenes. They won't appear in Remake's full cinematic cutscenes, however, but can still be enjoyed for most of the game.

Everything else remains in full HD, of course, with just the character models of playable characters being sent back in time. This includes Sonon Kusakabe, who wasn't in the original game and was instead introduced in Remake's Intermission chapter –but the mod also gives him a low-poly model too.

Similar wacky mods will likely be released for Final Fantasy 7 Remake's sequel, Rebirth, which has finally been confirmed by Square Enix as a late 2023 game. It will continue the story of Remake - though perhaps not exactly as Final Fantasy 7 told it - as the second game in the remastered trilogy.

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

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has revealed he once pitched a Hitman movie.

Appearing on Twitter, the 56-year-old filmmaker revealed that he pitched a movie about Agent 47 just weeks before he boarded Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

“Weeks before I got Guardians I pitched a HITMAN movie,” he said. “The studio really wanted to hire me, but a producer on the project did not. I was bummed then, but thank God, because I would have never been able to do [Guardians of the Galaxy] if they had said yes!”

Weeks before I got Guardians I pitched a HITMAN movie. The studio really wanted to hire me, but a producer on the project did not. I was bummed then, but thank God, because I would have never been able to do GotG if they had said yes! https://t.co/0JYQGBsuGY

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) September 6, 2022

Gunn has discussed his Hitman pitch before, with the director previously confirming that it would have been “R-rated” – but we didn't realise quite how close it was to his milestone work on the MCU.

Whether or not the Hitman series will get another adaptation remains to be seen. But for now, it looks as though James Gunn won’t be the filmmaker to bring it to the big screen.

Timothy Olyphant starred as Agent 47 in Hitman, the mildly entertaining action thriller. But compared to the beloved video game series, it left a lot to be desired. IGN’s Hitman review gave it 6/10 and said: “Ultimately, Hitman is less a ‘videogame movie’ than it is a rather generic but nevertheless engaging action flick. Hitman could have been even better had we'd gotten to know more about The Organization and Agent 47.”

Hitman: Agent 47 was Hollywood’s second run at a Hitman adaptation in 2015, starring Rupert Friend as the iconic assassin. Again, it wasn’t quite up to scratch, with IGN giving the film 6/10 and saying: “Hitman: Agent 47 is almost certainly going to be too much of a generic action film for those heavily invested in the game franchise, and too video game-like for those who aren't..”

Want to read more about Hitman? Check out our full Hitman III walkthrough if you’re having trouble with a target, or get some essential hints and tips to take your assignments to the next level.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Marvel’s Daredevil star Rosario Dawson wants to return in Daredevil: Born Again.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress explained that she would love to see her character make her way into the MCU after debuting as part of Netflix's short-lived Marvel experiements.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “For sure. You don’t even see her in that last ‘tell Claire to go home’ moment on Luke Cage. So, what is that? You know it’s terrible. So, yeah, I’d be super curious,”

Dawson debuted as Claire Temple on Marvel’s Daredevil back in Season One, helping patch up Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock after an altercation that left him bleeding out in a dumpster. A nurse who seems to constantly find herself helping out superheroes, Temple also appeared in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and even the team-up that brings them all together, Marvel’s Defenders.

As Dawson makes clear, Temple’s fate was left unknown the last time she appeared – and Dawson is happy to see Daredevil return, in case she can come back too.

“I’m just so stoked for everybody, though,” she added. “It’s been a long time coming. I was really excited to know that all of our shows are actually part of the MCU now, with Charlie and Vincent [D’Onofrio] coming over into these different projects now. So, yeah, 18 episodes [of Daredevil: Born Again]? I’m there! Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, they know where I am.”

Dawson is already busy, given that she's now the live-action version of Star Wars' Ahsoka Tano, and will be getting her own solo show.

Meanwhile, Daredevil is due to make his costumed debut in Marvel’s She-Hulk after Matt Murdock was seen giving legal aid to Peter Parker during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Daredevil: Born Again was announced earlier this year at San Diego Comic Con, with both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio confirmed to return here, as well as in a new MCU Echo show on Disney+.

Dawson herself made headlines recently after claiming that Marvel’s Punisher would be heading to the MCU… only to walk back her comments days later.

Want to read more about Daredevil: Born Again? Check out where Daredevil might appear next, as well as what to expect from Daredevil’s MCU appearances.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

UPDATE November 4, 2022: The Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition Switch OLED is out now, and if you missed preorders, the good news is it's not too late to grab one. Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy currently have available stock of the limited-edition Pokémon Switch, but Best Buy is pick-up only.

Nintendo has announced a new Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition Switch OLED.

The new Pokémon-themed console launches on November 4, 2022, and features art inspired by the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games with the legendary pokémon Koraidon and Miraidon pictured on the system dock.

Additionally, the console’s joy-con controllers are scarlet and violet colored, with the emblems of the games' Naranja and Uva Academies taking pride of place. The console itself is covered with purple and red graffiti, which includes drawings of the new starter pokémon – Fuecoco, Quaxly, and Sprigatito.

Other symbols are “ones the player might recognize throughout the game” which seems to include the new logo for the game’s Team Rocket counterpart, Team Star. The Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition Switch OLED will be available in stores and on My Nintendo Store from November 4 for around $359.99.

Meanwhile, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have been making waves with a new trailer that gives us a bit more detail about the upcoming Paldea region, as well as what trainers can expect there.

New trainers will take on three unique storylines in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, including traditional gym challenges, a face-off with Team Star, and a quest to discover new mystical plants.

IGN’s Nintendo Switch OLED review gave it 8/10 and said: “The Nintendo Switch OLED Model’s brighter, more vibrant, and slightly larger screen has made me want to take it out of docked mode much more often – and not just when I am about to travel. I feel more encouraged to lounge around on the couch or even in direct sunlight in the yard and play games handheld. The revised kickstand makes playing on any flat surface easier, and the Ethernet-enabled dock makes downloads quicker. While it’s a tougher sell for current Switch owners, particularly those that mostly keep their console docked, there are enough revisions to make it an easy recommendation for anyone who doesn’t own a Switch already.”

Want to read more about Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet? Check out the new 4-player co-op coming to the games, and find out about the new terastallizing mechanic.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Batman: Hush is a perennial bestseller for DC Comics. This iconic storyline has been reprinted in just about every format imaginable, from various hardcovers and trade paperbacks to a massive Absolute Edition collection. But for the latest Hush collection, DC is offering something no previous version can boast - a brand new story from the original creative team.

Batman: Hush 20th Anniversary Edition reunites original writer Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee for a 5-page story set after the events of 2003's Batman #619. DC is keeping the exact plot of this new story under wraps, but IGN can exclusively reveal two panels. Check them out in the slideshow gallery below and start speculating now:

DC also provided a brief but intriguing summary for this new story:

Ever wondered exactly what happened after Batman: Hush ended 20 years ago? This 20th Anniversary Edition provides the first clues to Hush’s fate on that dark night. An all-new story from the original creative team of Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Richard Starkings!

Batman: Hush 20th Anniversary Edition will collect the entire storyline (including the interlude originally published in Wizard Magazine), along with a hefty selection of sketches, annotations and other behind-the-scenes material curated by Lee.

Batman: Hush was originally serialized in Batman #608-619. The storyline introduces the titular bandaged villain and features many of Batman's most popular villains in supporting roles. Batman: Hush is also notable for introducing Bruce Wayne's estranged childhood friend, Dr. Tommy Elliot, and featuring a whirlwind romance between Batman and Catwoman (laying the groundwork for their eventual marriage in Tom King's Batman series).

Hush himself has gone on to appear in various other Batman comics, as well as video games like Batman: Arkham City and TV shows like Batwoman and Gotham. The original comic was also directly adapted in the 2019 animated movie Batman: Hush, albeit with a significantly altered ending.

Batman: Hush 20th Anniversary Edition is priced at $49.99 and is slated for release on October 18, 2022. You can preorder the book through Amazon and various other retailers.

Find out exactly how Batman: Hush measures up to the classics in IGN's Top 27 Batman graphic novels list.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Microsoft is introducing a new version of its popular Xbox Elite Series 2 controller today. And outside of it being a new color variant, it also comes with a cheaper retail price but does not include a lot of stuff found in the standard Elite 2 controller.

The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 - Core is a two-toned controller with matte black grips and a primarily white body. Retailing at $129.99, the Elite 2 - Core is more competitively priced when compared to the standard Elite 2 controller, which costs $179.99.

However, that cheaper price tag also comes with some caveats; the main ones include the lack of a carrying case, paddles, extra thumbsticks, and a standard D-Pad. You can see the infographic below that shows the clear comparisons between both Elite Series 2 controllers.

Fortunately, there is an option to buy the additional parts that are included in the standard Elite Controller. Microsoft confirmed in a press release that it will sell a new "Complete Component Pack," which includes the carrying case, charging dock, additional thumbsticks, a USB-C cable, and a standard D-Pad for just $59.99.

While this is convenient for those that purchase the Xbox Elite 2 - Core controller and want to get more customization out of their controller, the complete component pack is also ideal for current Elite 2 controller owners who may need replacement parts. Thus increasing the lifespan of the current controller in the event a part goes missing or breaks.

Microsoft also confirmed that it would bring the Elite 2 controller to the Xbox Design Lab sometime this holiday season. Marking the first time an Xbox Elite series controller will be available in the Xbox Design Lab since the customization program launched back in 2016.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have shown off the three separate stories that make up the core of the new games, including the expected gym battles, the new Team Star to take down, and a journey to discover mystical plants (and taking on Titan monsters).

Revealed in a new trailer (below) and explained more on the Pokémon website, the three questlines are grouped by a single prompt – you're attending a school in the new Paldea region, and have been handed a special independent study project with the theme "A Treasure Hunt".

You can find that treasure through three different questlines, which can be taken on in any order. Victory Road is the most familiar of the three, challenging you to defeat the leaders of eight Pokémon gyms then pass "the Champion Assessment" at Pokémon League headquarters. However, you'll also need to complete unique Gym Tests to get to those battles – the one we see involves collecting Sunflora hidden around the area.

Starfall Street is Scarlet and Violet's space to introduce a villainous group, in this case Team Star. Made up of rebellious students from your school – "Each squad is led by its own boss, each with their own base scattered across the Paldea region." You'll be heading into bases, where Team Star will send "a relentless barrage of Pokémon to get in your way," asking you to defeat a set number within a time limit. Complete that, and you'll need to take on a boss riding their own custom Starmobile, which needs to be defeated alongside their squads of Pokémon.

Finally, the third story strand is the Path of Legends, a story set around collecting Herba Mystica, rare ingredients "which are said to immediately restore health once eaten." You'll be accompanying a new character, Arven, to collect the Herba – and battling the Titan Pokémon that guard them. In the trailer, we meet Klawf, an enormous crab-like Pokémon.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet launch on November 18, bringing full 4-player co-op multiplayer into the series, among several other brand new features. The fully-open world games will add rideable legendaries for the first time, and introduce the new Terastallizing mechanic.

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.

It looks as though Cyberpunk 2077 may only be getting one expansion.

Announced yesterday during Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City Wire livestream, Phantom Liberty is heading to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Google Stadia sometime in 2023. However, while many expected Cyberpunk to echo The Witcher 3's two major expansions, it looks as though only one is in the works.

“Glad to hear we sparked your interest!” said developer CD Projekt Red in a YouTube comment (spotted by XGP) on the expansion’s reveal trailer. “As for the future, Phantom Liberty is the only planned expansion for Cyberpunk 2077.”

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty marks the first major content expansion beyond its smaller, regular updates. At the moment, little is known about the expansion aside from its expected release, which was earlier confirmed by developers, as well as a glimpse of what we can expect in the official release trailer.

Keanu Reeves will be back as Johnny Silverhand… and a plot involving an out to the New United States of America sounds rather ominous. “We're having a lot of fun with [the expansion]," said game director Gabriel Amatengelo. “It's a new style of plot, a new cast of characters, [and will expand] on a district in Night City where it primarily takes place.”

As well as the Phantom Liberty expansion, CD Projekt Red also announced the game’s next major update – a story-focused update that ties into the upcoming Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime show.

Although Phantom Liberty sounds like an interesting setup for more Silverhand-based shenanigans, Cyberpunk 2077 fans are bound to be disappointed that this will be the one and only expansion for the game. Still, it’s more than last-gen players are getting, since the upcoming expansion won’t be available on PS4 or Xbox One. Additionally, the 1.6 update will be the last major update for last-gen players.

IGN’s Cyberpunk 2077 review gave it 9/10 and said “Cyberpunk 2077 kicks you into its beautiful and dazzlingly dense cityscape with few restrictions. It offers a staggering amount of choice in how to build your character, approach quests, and confront enemies, and your decisions can have a tangible and natural-feeling impact on both the world around you and the stories of the people who inhabit it.”

Want to read more about Cyberpunk 2077? Check out who’s joined the Cyberpunk Edgerunner cast, and what’s in store from the Edgerunners update.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Sony has updated the internal design of its PlayStation 5 consoles, and seemingly made the console more energy efficient as a result.

As reported by The Verge, YouTube user Austin Evans took apart the redesigned console and found that Sony had made some fairly significant changes. Despite not being a rebranded update (akin to the PlayStation 4 Slim), Sony has updated the PS5's internals roughly once a year to make the machine more efficient (and presumably cheaper to produce).

The updated model's motherboard has been reduced in size by about two inches, the cooling has been changed through an additional heat pipe at the back of a console and a smaller heatsink, and the SSD enclosure has also been changed slightly.

Though Sony may have had other reasons for updating the console, Evans claimed in his video that the new PS5 uses around 20 to 30 less watts while gaming and is therefore the most energy efficient version of the console so far.

The new model comes just as Sony increased the price of the PS5 in most major markets including the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. "The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you around the world are no doubt experiencing," the publisher said at the time.

Microsoft will not follow suit with its Xbox Series consoles, however, as the company confirmed it has no plans to increase prices despite its main competitor doing so. Despite the Switch also costing more to produce, Nintendo has also made clear it has no plans to increase prices to "avoid pricing people out".

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