Improbable has announced that it's shutting down its free-to-play multiplayer game Scavengers on December 16, simply because not enough people are playing the game.

"The last few months have seen a decline in the player base, and whilst we explored many options to reinvigorate server population while the game is in Early Access, it became clear that it was unsustainable to continue development and live service," Improbable said in a statement on its website.

"We’re all proud of what we accomplished, and are grateful to every player who took the time to play, even if it was just for a short while."

Scavengers was developed by Midwinter Entertainment and the game launched into Early Access on Steam back in May 2021. It's had a fairly turbulent development cycle as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were canceled earlier this year, due to Improbable selling Midwinter Entertainment to Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive as it focused instead on metaverse development.

The PC version was promised to remain unaffected at the time, but Scavenger's numbers were already struggling, only having a few hundred players since November last year according to Steam DB.

Scavengers was first announced in 2018 from former Halo developers from 343 Industries and released several demos and tests for the game before finally launching in Early Access, though a full version of the game will seemingly never be released.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

CD Projekt Red has announced that the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released on December 14.

Announced in a post on The Witcher's official Twitter account (below), CD Projekt Red has stuck to its promise of a fourth quarter release by confirming the December date. This only applies to the digital version of the game though, with CD Projekt Red saying that a physical release date will be announced later.

The upgrade, which is free to anyone who's bought the game previously, includes "dozens of visual, performance, and technical enhancements over the original," CD Projekt Red said in a press release. "These include ray tracing support, faster loading times on consoles, as well as a variety of mods integrated into the experience, among many others."

The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.

For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih

— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022

More details on these integrated mods and other features will be shared during a Twitch livestream sometime next week, but CD Projekt Red has otherwise confirmed the next-gen version to include all previously released DLC alongside new content based on The Witcher Netflix series.

The game was originally expected to be released last year before being delayed twice, with third party studio Saber Interactive originally developing the new version. CD Projekt Red took over itself in April 2022, though persisted that the game was "not in development hell".

The Q4 date was set back in May but many were still worried given the two previous delays, not to mention the impending end of the year, but CD Projekt Red will seemingly meet its target.

In our 9/10 review of the original release, IGN said: "Massive in size, and meticulously detailed, The Witcher 3 ends Geralt's story on a high note," and it also won our Game of the Year.

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

CD Projekt Red has announced that the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released on December 14.

Announced in a post on The Witcher's official Twitter account (below), CD Projekt Red has stuck to its promise of a fourth quarter release by confirming the December date. This only applies to the digital version of the game though, with CD Projekt Red saying that a physical release date will be announced later.

The upgrade, which is free to anyone who's bought the game previously, includes "dozens of visual, performance, and technical enhancements over the original," CD Projekt Red said in a press release. "These include ray tracing support, faster loading times on consoles, as well as a variety of mods integrated into the experience, among many others."

The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.

For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih

— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022

More details on these integrated mods and other features will be shared during a Twitch livestream sometime next week, but CD Projekt Red has otherwise confirmed the next-gen version to include all previously released DLC alongside new content based on The Witcher Netflix series.

The game was originally expected to be released last year before being delayed twice, with third party studio Saber Interactive originally developing the new version. CD Projekt Red took over itself in April 2022, though persisted that the game was "not in development hell".

The Q4 date was set back in May but many were still worried given the two previous delays, not to mention the impending end of the year, but CD Projekt Red will seemingly meet its target.

In our 9/10 review of the original release, IGN said: "Massive in size, and meticulously detailed, The Witcher 3 ends Geralt's story on a high note," and it also won our Game of the Year.

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

Sony is leading the gaming hardware race into the holiday period as the PlayStation 5 was October 2022's best selling console in the U.S.

According to the NPD Group's latest figures, the PS5 topped the hardware charts both in terms of units sold and dollar sales, with the Xbox Series X and S coming in second place. Hardware dollar sales fell by 10% overall compared to last year, however, with year-to-date spending for all video game products falling by 7%.

On the software front, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became the best selling game in October, marking 15 straight years that Call of Duty has claimed the top spot in its release month. Gotham Knights was the second best selling game despite a rough start.

Sports titans FIFA 23 and Madden NFL 23 took third and fourth, putting the other newly released games of NHL 23 in fifth and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope in sixth. Bayonetta 3 placed ninth, Star Ocean: The Divine Force placed 14th, Dragon Ball: The Breakers placed 16th, and PGA Tour 2K23 placed 17th despite all being October releases.

The full list of October 2022's best selling games can be seen below:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2. Gotham Knights
3. FIFA 23
4. Madden NFL 23
5. NHL 23
6. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
7. Persona 5
8. NBA 2K23
9. Bayonetta 3
10. Elden Ring
11. Mario Kart 8
12. Splatoon 3
13. Minecraft
14. Star Ocean: The Divine Force
15. Grounded
16. Dragon Ball: The Breakers
17. PGA Tour 2K23
18. Nintendo Switch Sports
19. NieR: Automata
20. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

It's worth noting that neither Nintendo or Take-Two report digital sales, and these are therefore not factored into the performance indicated above.

IGN gave this month's top performer a 6/10 in our single player review and an 8/10 in our multiplayer one, saying in the latter: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer moves the formula forward with bigger maps and more customization without sacrificing its bulletproof mechanics."

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

Sony is leading the gaming hardware race into the holiday period as the PlayStation 5 was October 2022's best selling console in the U.S.

According to the NPD Group's latest figures, the PS5 topped the hardware charts both in terms of units sold and dollar sales, with the Xbox Series X and S coming in second place. Hardware dollar sales fell by 10% overall compared to last year, however, with year-to-date spending for all video game products falling by 7%.

On the software front, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became the best selling game in October, marking 15 straight years that Call of Duty has claimed the top spot in its release month. Gotham Knights was the second best selling game despite a rough start.

Sports titans FIFA 23 and Madden NFL 23 took third and fourth, putting the other newly released games of NHL 23 in fifth and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope in sixth. Bayonetta 3 placed ninth, Star Ocean: The Divine Force placed 14th, Dragon Ball: The Breakers placed 16th, and PGA Tour 2K23 placed 17th despite all being October releases.

The full list of October 2022's best selling games can be seen below:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2. Gotham Knights
3. FIFA 23
4. Madden NFL 23
5. NHL 23
6. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
7. Persona 5
8. NBA 2K23
9. Bayonetta 3
10. Elden Ring
11. Mario Kart 8
12. Splatoon 3
13. Minecraft
14. Star Ocean: The Divine Force
15. Grounded
16. Dragon Ball: The Breakers
17. PGA Tour 2K23
18. Nintendo Switch Sports
19. NieR: Automata
20. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

It's worth noting that neither Nintendo or Take-Two report digital sales, and these are therefore not factored into the performance indicated above.

IGN gave this month's top performer a 6/10 in our single player review and an 8/10 in our multiplayer one, saying in the latter: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer moves the formula forward with bigger maps and more customization without sacrificing its bulletproof mechanics."

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

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer say they're aiming for the fifth and final season to have "a little bit of everything" as a thematic "culmination" of what's come before it.

As reported by Variety, the Duffer Brothers participated in an FYC panel discussion on Sunday night alongside director Shawn Levy and series stars Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Quinn, Eduardo Franco, and a virtual Millie Bobby Brown. At the event, the creative team behind the Netflix hit offered the first hints about what fans can expect from the show's highly anticipated fifth season.

When asked whether the final season will weave in any new horror legends or pop culture references, Ross said they're viewing Season 5 as "a culmination of all the seasons" with "a little bit of everything" from the past. He noted that Season 3 was the "big summer blockbuster season with big monsters" while Season 4 was the "psychological horror," but now they're trying to "go back to the beginning."

He acknowledged that the tone of Season 5 would likely end up being closer to that of the first season but "scale-wise," the last group of episodes will be "more aligned" with the fourth season. Season 4 allegedly had a per-episode cost of $30 million, making it one of the most expensive seasons in history — though it later became Netflix's first English-language series to pass 1 billion hours of watch time.

Matt and Ross previously hinted that the fifth season won't be as long as Season 4's 13-hour runtime, as there will be less to set up before the kids "get drawn into the supernatural mystery." However, the emotional stakes are not expected to be impacted by the potentially shorter season, as the team on the FYC panel revealed that some Netflix execs were in tears during the two-hour pitch for the final season.

"Just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now, most of whom are still living," Ross said at the event on Sunday night. "It's important to wrap up those arcs because a lot of these characters have been growing since Season 1. So, it's a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also, tying up these loose ends and doing our final reveals."

Netflix recently revealed that the final season's first episode is titled "Chapter One: The Crawl." The premiere is expected to drop alongside all (or at least most) of the other episodes on the same day rather than switching to weekly releases, though it's worth noting that Stranger Things 4 was split into two sets of releases, so that could be an option again.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer say they're aiming for the fifth and final season to have "a little bit of everything" as a thematic "culmination" of what's come before it.

As reported by Variety, the Duffer Brothers participated in an FYC panel discussion on Sunday night alongside director Shawn Levy and series stars Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Quinn, Eduardo Franco, and a virtual Millie Bobby Brown. At the event, the creative team behind the Netflix hit offered the first hints about what fans can expect from the show's highly anticipated fifth season.

When asked whether the final season will weave in any new horror legends or pop culture references, Ross said they're viewing Season 5 as "a culmination of all the seasons" with "a little bit of everything" from the past. He noted that Season 3 was the "big summer blockbuster season with big monsters" while Season 4 was the "psychological horror," but now they're trying to "go back to the beginning."

He acknowledged that the tone of Season 5 would likely end up being closer to that of the first season but "scale-wise," the last group of episodes will be "more aligned" with the fourth season. Season 4 allegedly had a per-episode cost of $30 million, making it one of the most expensive seasons in history — though it later became Netflix's first English-language series to pass 1 billion hours of watch time.

Matt and Ross previously hinted that the fifth season won't be as long as Season 4's 13-hour runtime, as there will be less to set up before the kids "get drawn into the supernatural mystery." However, the emotional stakes are not expected to be impacted by the potentially shorter season, as the team on the FYC panel revealed that some Netflix execs were in tears during the two-hour pitch for the final season.

"Just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now, most of whom are still living," Ross said at the event on Sunday night. "It's important to wrap up those arcs because a lot of these characters have been growing since Season 1. So, it's a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also, tying up these loose ends and doing our final reveals."

Netflix recently revealed that the final season's first episode is titled "Chapter One: The Crawl." The premiere is expected to drop alongside all (or at least most) of the other episodes on the same day rather than switching to weekly releases, though it's worth noting that Stranger Things 4 was split into two sets of releases, so that could be an option again.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Paramount+ has revealed the first teaser trailer for 1923, the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led Yellowstone prequel.

The teaser was revealed during the Season 5 premiere of Yellowstone, and ominous words that set the tone for this period piece that promises to be a "Yellowstone origin story" are heard throughout.

It's the dawn of a new era. #1923TV arrives December 18, exclusively on #ParamountPlus. pic.twitter.com/9lcPE0jbrb

— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) November 14, 2022

'Violence has always haunted this family. It followed us from the Scottish highlands and the slums of Dublin. And it followed us here. And where it doesn't follow, we hunt it down. We seek it."

1923 is set to debut on Paramount+ on December 18, and it takes place a century before Kevin Costner's John Dutton III is in charge of the legendary Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Montana. Ford plays Jacob Dutton and Mirren will be his wife, Cara.

“He’s the silverback,” Ford said of his character. “He’s responsible for that branch of the family. These are two people with a very strong bond to each other who are facing really complicated circumstances.”

This series will be the second prequel in the Yellowstone universe and follows 1883, a spin-off that stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill as James and Margaret Dutton and tells the story of them leading their family from Tennessee to a new home in Montana.

If you can't get enough Yellowstone and you've already watched everything the series has to offer, we've gathered a list of more shows that will hopefully help with that void left in your Yellowstone-loving heart.

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.

Paramount+ has revealed the first teaser trailer for 1923, the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led Yellowstone prequel.

The teaser was revealed during the Season 5 premiere of Yellowstone, and ominous words that set the tone for this period piece that promises to be a "Yellowstone origin story" are heard throughout.

It's the dawn of a new era. #1923TV arrives December 18, exclusively on #ParamountPlus. pic.twitter.com/9lcPE0jbrb

— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) November 14, 2022

'Violence has always haunted this family. It followed us from the Scottish highlands and the slums of Dublin. And it followed us here. And where it doesn't follow, we hunt it down. We seek it."

1923 is set to debut on Paramount+ on December 18, and it takes place a century before Kevin Costner's John Dutton III is in charge of the legendary Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Montana. Ford plays Jacob Dutton and Mirren will be his wife, Cara.

“He’s the silverback,” Ford said of his character. “He’s responsible for that branch of the family. These are two people with a very strong bond to each other who are facing really complicated circumstances.”

This series will be the second prequel in the Yellowstone universe and follows 1883, a spin-off that stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill as James and Margaret Dutton and tells the story of them leading their family from Tennessee to a new home in Montana.

If you can't get enough Yellowstone and you've already watched everything the series has to offer, we've gathered a list of more shows that will hopefully help with that void left in your Yellowstone-loving heart.

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.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has debuted to a vibranium-strong $330 million global weekend box office victory, as it earned $180 million domestically and $150 million overseas.

As reported by Variety, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which had a $250 million production budget, broke the record for the highest November opening weekend in North American box office history by surpassing the $158 million brought in by 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever beat out Thor: Love and Thunder's $143 million domestic opening, it couldn't match the $187.3 million opening weekend of Doctor Stange in the Multiverse of Madness. That being said, second place in 2022 is no small feat. All three of these movies, however, pale in comparison to the $260 million opening of 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Speaking of comparison, the original Black Panther brought in $202 million domestically in its opening weekend. It's important to note we are living in a much different world than we were back then, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting theaters and China and Russia are not as much in the picture at the moment.

No matter how you look at it, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had an incredibly strong opening weekend and the team clearly made an incredibly moving film that honored the late Chadwick Boseman. The Black Panther star who played King T'Challa passed away at the age of 43 in 2020 after a four-year battle with cancer.

In our Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review, we said that it "is at its most effective when paying tribute to its fallen king, and strong performances from the returning cast keep it afloat through its occasionally choppy plot."

Most other films chose not to battle the behemoth that is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and only one notable film, Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, saw a limited release. Spielbergs' latest film opened in just four theaters in NYC and LA and earned $160,000. It will open wide on November 23.

After three weekends atop the box office, Black Adam placed second with domestic box office sales reaching $8.6 million. Dwayne Johnson's attempt to change the hierarchy in the DCEU has crossed $151 million domestically and $353 million worldwide. Black Adam earned $67 million in its domestic debut.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts' Ticket to Paradise took third with $6.1 million, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile placed fourth with $3.2 million, and Smile rounded out the top five with $2.3 million.

For more on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, check out our explainer of the ending and post-credits scene, nine burning questions we have after watching the latest MCU film, how Namor's past just may set up the X-Men's future, and how you can watch our live Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilercast.

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.