The PlayStation 5 has finally broken Nintendo Switch's 33-month run of selling the most console units in the US monthly hardware charts.

As per data collected by the NPD Group, the PlayStation 5 has finally come out on top of the Nintendo handheld to become the best-selling hardware platform across the US in September, selling the most units, and making the most money.

The Nintendo Switch's remarkable run shouldn't be understated. Having led the US console market in units sold on a monthly basis since November 2018 when it took over from the PlayStation 4, the Switch's 33-month run has seen it consistently outsell both Sony and Microsoft despite the latter pair releasing new flagship consoles within that time.

While the Switch remains the best-selling console in terms of units sold across the US year-to-date, as of August the PlayStation 5 had surpassed Nintendo's console in terms of dollar sales, and that continued last month. It's quite a feat, given that PS5 has been hit with shortages throughout the year.

In September, video game hardware dollar sales across the US increased by 49% when compared to the same month in 2020. The NPD Group notes that the total spend on hardware last month reached $412 million.

In August, Sony reported that it had secured enough components to be able to sell 22 million PlayStation 5s before the end of the current fiscal year. That being said, the company has still certainly seen its fair share of shortages since the console launched. Alongside Microsoft's Xbox Series X and PC graphics cards, part of the reason that fans haven't been able to get their hands on the latest hardware comes down to an industry-wide pandemic-caused chip shortage.

Estimates on when that shortage will end tend to vary. In August, Intel suggested that the issues could drag on until 2023 - while more recently, Toshiba director Takeshi Kamebuchi said that he thought that the chips would remain "very tight" until at least September of next year. Either way, it seems that it could still be a while before either the PS5 or Xbox Series X become consistently widely stocked across retailers.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The PlayStation 5 has finally broken Nintendo Switch's 33-month run of selling the most console units in the US monthly hardware charts.

As per data collected by the NPD Group, the PlayStation 5 has finally come out on top of the Nintendo handheld to become the best-selling hardware platform across the US in September, selling the most units, and making the most money.

The Nintendo Switch's remarkable run shouldn't be understated. Having led the US console market in units sold on a monthly basis since November 2018 when it took over from the PlayStation 4, the Switch's 33-month run has seen it consistently outsell both Sony and Microsoft despite the latter pair releasing new flagship consoles within that time.

While the Switch remains the best-selling console in terms of units sold across the US year-to-date, as of August the PlayStation 5 had surpassed Nintendo's console in terms of dollar sales, and that continued last month. It's quite a feat, given that PS5 has been hit with shortages throughout the year.

In September, video game hardware dollar sales across the US increased by 49% when compared to the same month in 2020. The NPD Group notes that the total spend on hardware last month reached $412 million.

In August, Sony reported that it had secured enough components to be able to sell 22 million PlayStation 5s before the end of the current fiscal year. That being said, the company has still certainly seen its fair share of shortages since the console launched. Alongside Microsoft's Xbox Series X and PC graphics cards, part of the reason that fans haven't been able to get their hands on the latest hardware comes down to an industry-wide pandemic-caused chip shortage.

Estimates on when that shortage will end tend to vary. In August, Intel suggested that the issues could drag on until 2023 - while more recently, Toshiba director Takeshi Kamebuchi said that he thought that the chips would remain "very tight" until at least September of next year. Either way, it seems that it could still be a while before either the PS5 or Xbox Series X become consistently widely stocked across retailers.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Elden Ring has been delayed until February 25, 2022. However, the game will get a closed network test from November 12-14 – and you can register to be a part of it now, but it will be a consoe test only.

Announced on Twitter, the Elden Ring team explained that the delay – which is just over a month from the original date of January 21 – is because, "the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations." The team thanked players for their patience.

Important message:

ELDEN RING will release on Feb 25, 2022, as the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations. Thank you for your trust & patience. We look forward to seeing you experience the game in the Closed Network Test in Nov.

The #ELDENRING Team

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) October 18, 2021

There was some better news, however, with the annoucnement of a Closed Network Test, being used to judge how well the game's online elements work when put under the stress of a full playerbase.

The Closed Network Test is for console only, with the option to try the game on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S – with cross-play supported within console families. No mention has been made of a PC test.

The Closed Network Test will run from November 12-14, and players can be chosen to take part by registering on the Elden Ring website before November 1. Essentially, if you want to play some of Elden Ring early, you'll want to sign up soon.

The website makes clear that joining the test is free, but doesn't provide details of what it will entail, other than to say that it is "a pre-verification test for the completion of the commercial version of the game," and, "a test to improve the quality of the product." You'll need to create a Bandai Namco account to sign up.

There will be five sessions across November 12-14 (listed below in Pacific time):

Session 1: 3am - 6am, November 12 Session 2: 7pm - 10pm, November 12 Session 3: 11am - 2pm, November 13 Session 4: 3am - 6am, November 14 Session 5: 7pm - 10pm, November 15

Last weekend, thirty seconds of what appeared to be Elden Ring direct feed gameplay leaked – effectively our first public look at the game outside of trailers. IGN previously saw 15 minutes of the game running behind closed doors, which we summed up in a first preview.

The long-awaited game is an open world take on FromSoftware's beloved Souls games, continuing a legacy started by Demon Souls and carried on by the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. With world-building help from George R.R. Martin, it's a game that promises to have FromSoft's biggest ever map, all-new gameplay mechanics, and even a mechanic that sounds a bit like Pokemon. We previously had an in-depth chat with Souls mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki about the game.

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.

Elden Ring has been delayed until February 25, 2022. However, the game will get a closed network test from November 12-14 – and you can register to be a part of it now, but it will be a consoe test only.

Announced on Twitter, the Elden Ring team explained that the delay – which is just over a month from the original date of January 21 – is because, "the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations." The team thanked players for their patience.

Important message:

ELDEN RING will release on Feb 25, 2022, as the depth & strategic freedom of the game exceeded initial expectations. Thank you for your trust & patience. We look forward to seeing you experience the game in the Closed Network Test in Nov.

The #ELDENRING Team

— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) October 18, 2021

There was some better news, however, with the annoucnement of a Closed Network Test, being used to judge how well the game's online elements work when put under the stress of a full playerbase.

The Closed Network Test is for console only, with the option to try the game on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S – with cross-play supported within console families. No mention has been made of a PC test.

The Closed Network Test will run from November 12-14, and players can be chosen to take part by registering on the Elden Ring website before November 1. Essentially, if you want to play some of Elden Ring early, you'll want to sign up soon.

The website makes clear that joining the test is free, but doesn't provide details of what it will entail, other than to say that it is "a pre-verification test for the completion of the commercial version of the game," and, "a test to improve the quality of the product." You'll need to create a Bandai Namco account to sign up.

There will be five sessions across November 12-14 (listed below in Pacific time):

Session 1: 3am - 6am, November 12 Session 2: 7pm - 10pm, November 12 Session 3: 11am - 2pm, November 13 Session 4: 3am - 6am, November 14 Session 5: 7pm - 10pm, November 15

Last weekend, thirty seconds of what appeared to be Elden Ring direct feed gameplay leaked – effectively our first public look at the game outside of trailers. IGN previously saw 15 minutes of the game running behind closed doors, which we summed up in a first preview.

The long-awaited game is an open world take on FromSoftware's beloved Souls games, continuing a legacy started by Demon Souls and carried on by the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. With world-building help from George R.R. Martin, it's a game that promises to have FromSoft's biggest ever map, all-new gameplay mechanics, and even a mechanic that sounds a bit like Pokemon. We previously had an in-depth chat with Souls mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki about the game.

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.

Netflix estimates that Squid Game will create almost $900 million in value for the company, which is nearly 40 times the amount the show cost to produce.

According to an internal Netflix document seen by Bloomberg, the South Korean survival drama has generated $891.1 million in "impact value," which is a metric the company uses to assess the performance from individual shows, including the likes of Bridgerton which was the streaming service's most-watched series launch before Squid Game knocked it off its perch.

The confidential document also reportedly revealed that the nine-episode thriller, which hit Netflix on September 17, cost just $21.3 million to produce, making it approximately $2.4 million per episode, which is considerably more cost-efficent than some of Netflix's other major shows such as Stranger Things and The Crown.

In addition, the report shared some updated data in regards to Squid Game's total viewer figure, with it now being reported that about 132 million people watched at least two minutes of the show in its first 23 days on the platform. It was previously announced that the dystopian series had reached 111 million people, making it the biggest ever launch for Netflix.

Despite the show's seemingly overnight success, Squid Game was in development for 10 years as the director tried and failed to get the story made for the screen. And when Netflix finally went ahead and produced the show, director Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed the intensity of the shoot caused him to lose six teeth to stress.

The magnitude of production and the extremity of the experience may have taken its toll on Hwang, but it hasn't totally discouraged him from thinking about a second season. He has already indicated that, should it be greenlit, Squid Game's sophomore season might not be about the contestants as he would like to further explore the role of the Korean police.

IGN awarded Squid Game a 9 out of 10, calling it "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." We praised the way it unravels the story to deliver "a white-knuckle thriller, drama, and episodic psychological breakdown with a sickly pastel veneer," which is "equal parts gut-wrenching and squirm-inducing" for both the players and the audience.

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

Netflix estimates that Squid Game will create almost $900 million in value for the company, which is nearly 40 times the amount the show cost to produce.

According to an internal Netflix document seen by Bloomberg, the South Korean survival drama has generated $891.1 million in "impact value," which is a metric the company uses to assess the performance from individual shows, including the likes of Bridgerton which was the streaming service's most-watched series launch before Squid Game knocked it off its perch.

The confidential document also reportedly revealed that the nine-episode thriller, which hit Netflix on September 17, cost just $21.3 million to produce, making it approximately $2.4 million per episode, which is considerably more cost-efficent than some of Netflix's other major shows such as Stranger Things and The Crown.

In addition, the report shared some updated data in regards to Squid Game's total viewer figure, with it now being reported that about 132 million people watched at least two minutes of the show in its first 23 days on the platform. It was previously announced that the dystopian series had reached 111 million people, making it the biggest ever launch for Netflix.

Despite the show's seemingly overnight success, Squid Game was in development for 10 years as the director tried and failed to get the story made for the screen. And when Netflix finally went ahead and produced the show, director Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed the intensity of the shoot caused him to lose six teeth to stress.

The magnitude of production and the extremity of the experience may have taken its toll on Hwang, but it hasn't totally discouraged him from thinking about a second season. He has already indicated that, should it be greenlit, Squid Game's sophomore season might not be about the contestants as he would like to further explore the role of the Korean police.

IGN awarded Squid Game a 9 out of 10, calling it "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." We praised the way it unravels the story to deliver "a white-knuckle thriller, drama, and episodic psychological breakdown with a sickly pastel veneer," which is "equal parts gut-wrenching and squirm-inducing" for both the players and the audience.

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

Compulsion Games, the studio behind We Happy Few, says that it has doubled in size for its newest project, which will be a third-person narrative-driven single-player game.

During an interview with Xbox Squad (as translated by VGC), Compulsion Games PR and Community Developer Naila Hadjas talked further about the studio's recent expansion and its plans for the future, saying: “I think we gave ourselves a little time to learn. It’s our first game with Microsoft and we’re learning a lot."

Microsoft announced back at E3 2018 that it had bought Compulsion Games as part of a mass acquisition that included the likes of Forza Horizon developer Playground Games, State of Decay's Undead Labs, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice developer Ninja Theory. As a result, the new game will almost certainly be exclusive to Xbox and PC, and released at launch on Game Pass.

“We have doubled the workforce and we are adapting to it,” Hadjas continues. “The goal is to expand our zany universe, to continue to make our mark in video games as a studio that likes to make unique games, in little-used settings. For now, that’s our goal. Pursue our ‘legacy’, our heritage, while remaining true to ourselves.”

Despite its current lack of details or official title, the upcoming game from Compulsion is reported to have gone into production only a few months after the release of We Happy Few, which initially entered early access in 2016 before gaining a full release two years later. According to Hadjas, the new game is currently in "full development", although the PR and Community Developer did also note that she has "no idea" when fans will get to see it.

Unlike We Happy Few, the studio believes that its new project is unlikely to require an early access period prior to its full launch. “With our new game, a narrative, third person, story game, I don’t think we need any feedback," says Hadjas. "It’s not like a roguelike where you replay it multiple times and you need data to make sure the experience is fun."

While We Happy Few does have a traditional story, Hadjas notes that this wasn't the case in the beginning and that its inclusion only came after fans fell in love with the game's world and its characters. In contrast, Hadjas says that the next game "is a story" and that the team knows where it is going from the beginning. Currently, Compulsion Games' upcoming project does not yet have a release date.

For more from the developer, make sure to check out our review of We Happy Few where we awarded the game a 7.3/10.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Compulsion Games, the studio behind We Happy Few, says that it has doubled in size for its newest project, which will be a third-person narrative-driven single-player game.

During an interview with Xbox Squad (as translated by VGC), Compulsion Games PR and Community Developer Naila Hadjas talked further about the studio's recent expansion and its plans for the future, saying: “I think we gave ourselves a little time to learn. It’s our first game with Microsoft and we’re learning a lot."

Microsoft announced back at E3 2018 that it had bought Compulsion Games as part of a mass acquisition that included the likes of Forza Horizon developer Playground Games, State of Decay's Undead Labs, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice developer Ninja Theory. As a result, the new game will almost certainly be exclusive to Xbox and PC, and released at launch on Game Pass.

“We have doubled the workforce and we are adapting to it,” Hadjas continues. “The goal is to expand our zany universe, to continue to make our mark in video games as a studio that likes to make unique games, in little-used settings. For now, that’s our goal. Pursue our ‘legacy’, our heritage, while remaining true to ourselves.”

Despite its current lack of details or official title, the upcoming game from Compulsion is reported to have gone into production only a few months after the release of We Happy Few, which initially entered early access in 2016 before gaining a full release two years later. According to Hadjas, the new game is currently in "full development", although the PR and Community Developer did also note that she has "no idea" when fans will get to see it.

Unlike We Happy Few, the studio believes that its new project is unlikely to require an early access period prior to its full launch. “With our new game, a narrative, third person, story game, I don’t think we need any feedback," says Hardjas. "It’s not like a roguelike where you replay it multiple times and you need data to make sure the experience is fun."

While We Happy Few does have a traditional story, Hadjas notes that this wasn't the case in the beginning and that its inclusion only came after fans fell in love with the game's world and its characters. In contrast, Hadjas says that the next game "is a story" and that the team knows where it is going from the beginning. Currently, Compulsion Games' upcoming project does not yet have a release date.

For more from the developer, make sure to check out our review of We Happy Few where we awarded the game a 7.3/10.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida says that discussions between Square Enix and Microsoft to bring the game to Xbox are 'positive', but still ongoing.

In an interview with Easy Allies, Yoshida talked further about the current status of an Xbox version of Final Fantasy 14. While the director was hesitant to confirm any new details surrounding the game, he did point out that talks between Square Enix and Microsoft have taken a positive turn.

"So I feel bad for saying the same thing every time," said Yoshida when asked if there was any news on an Xbox version of FF14. "But we are still in discussions with Microsoft and I feel like our conversations are going in a positive tone. I don't want to say that we do not have an Xbox version but I'm hoping that the timing will be very soon that I'll have some kind of update to the players.

"I'm sure that there's a lot of things that people want to ask about on the subject and there's a lot of things that I would love to share but I'm afraid I'm unable to divulge on those details."

Despite its current lack of an Xbox port, the game has performed exceedingly well across PC and PlayStation consoles. Following a soft reboot with Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn and a number of subsequent expansions, the MMORPG has seen growing popularity over the past few years. This year alone, the game has seemed as popular as ever, with speculation even suggesting that Square Enix may have temporarily halted digital sales for the game due to briefly over-congested servers.

During a hands-on preview event for the game's upcoming Endwalker expansion, Yoshida spoke further about the popularity of FF14. During the event, the director confirmed that the MMORPG has become the most profitable game in the Final Fantasy series to date and that it had recently surpassed 24 million players worldwide.

Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is set to launch on November 23. As well as featuring hours and hours of new story content, the expansion will also include several new areas and two new job classes. IGN was recently given the opportunity to try out some of the various new features coming to Endwalker. To see what we thought, make sure to check out this article detailing everything we learned from the Final Fantasy 14: Enwalker preview.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida says that discussions between Square Enix and Microsoft to bring the game to Xbox are 'positive', but still ongoing.

In an interview with Easy Allies, Yoshida talked further about the current status of an Xbox version of Final Fantasy 14. While the director was hesitant to confirm any new details surrounding the game, he did point out that talks between Square Enix and Microsoft have taken a positive turn.

"So I feel bad for saying the same thing every time," said Yoshida when asked if there was any news on an Xbox version of FF14. "But we are still in discussions with Microsoft and I feel like our conversations are going in a positive tone. I don't want to say that we do not have an Xbox version but I'm hoping that the timing will be very soon that I'll have some kind of update to the players.

"I'm sure that there's a lot of things that people want to ask about on the subject and there's a lot of things that I would love to share but I'm afraid I'm unable to divulge on those details."

Despite its current lack of an Xbox port, the game has performed exceedingly well across PC and PlayStation consoles. Following a soft reboot with Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn and a number of subsequent expansions, the MMORPG has seen growing popularity over the past few years. This year alone, the game has seemed as popular as ever, with speculation even suggesting that Square Enix may have temporarily halted digital sales for the game due to briefly over-congested servers.

During a hands-on preview event for the game's upcoming Endwalker expansion, Yoshida spoke further about the popularity of FF14. During the event, the director confirmed that the MMORPG has become the most profitable game in the Final Fantasy series to date and that it had recently surpassed 24 million players worldwide.

Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker is set to launch on November 23. As well as featuring hours and hours of new story content, the expansion will also include several new areas and two new job classes. IGN was recently given the opportunity to try out some of the various new features coming to Endwalker. To see what we thought, make sure to check out this article detailing everything we learned from the Final Fantasy 14: Enwalker preview.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.