Update: Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has weighed in, simply saying that the reports are "false".

This is false.

— pete parsons (@pparsons) September 14, 2020

Bungie Director of Global Public Relations Vanessa Vanasin went into more detail on Twitter, saying, "All of the info and speculation out there is not true. We are lucky to have a great relationship with our many friends [at Microsoft] who play Destiny, and Halo will always have a special place in our hearts.” We've contacted Microsoft for its own statement. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Microsoft has reportedly been in talks to reacquire Destiny developer Bungie, which recently negotiated independence from franchise publisher Activision. The news is sourced from the GamesBeat podcast, where the hosts discuss the potential acquisition or a special partnership between Microsoft and Bungie. "I have heard they've had those talks, but like, the price is very high!" says Kinda Funny's Imran Khan. "I've heard that they've fallen through repeatedly," notes GamesBeat's Jeffrey Grubb. Eurogamer has also corroborated the story, citing its own sources and adding that they have been "driven on Bungie's side by a desire to raise new funds for the studio, its projects and staff", and that the two parties are yet to agree on a price. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/09/destiny-2-beyond-light-reveal-trailer"] It's unclear whether those talks are still open, or if the difference in pricing has led to the matter being closed. It's an interesting proposition given Bungie's relationship with Microsoft, who purchased the studio back in 2000, spawning many successful Halo games. Bungie later split from the Xbox crowd in 2007 before returning with Destiny in 2014 as part of a ten-year partnership with series publisher Activision. However, Activision and Bungie mutually parted ways early in 2019, with the developer maintaining the rights to Destiny. It's clear that Bungie is apparently prepared to drive a hard bargain if they were to get back into bed with Microsoft. Back in July, ex-Bungie board member Marty O'Donnell noted that Bungie almost went back to Microsoft after the separation, but the publisher would not let the studio retain the Destiny IP, so Bungie dealt with Activision instead. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Update: Bungie CEO Pete Parsons has weighed in, simply saying that the reports are "false".

This is false.

— pete parsons (@pparsons) September 14, 2020

Bungie Director of Global Public Relations Vanessa Vanasin went into more detail on Twitter, saying, "All of the info and speculation out there is not true. We are lucky to have a great relationship with our many friends [at Microsoft] who play Destiny, and Halo will always have a special place in our hearts.” We've contacted Microsoft for its own statement. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Microsoft has reportedly been in talks to reacquire Destiny developer Bungie, which recently negotiated independence from franchise publisher Activision. The news is sourced from the GamesBeat podcast, where the hosts discuss the potential acquisition or a special partnership between Microsoft and Bungie. "I have heard they've had those talks, but like, the price is very high!" says Kinda Funny's Imran Khan. "I've heard that they've fallen through repeatedly," notes GamesBeat's Jeffrey Grubb. Eurogamer has also corroborated the story, citing its own sources and adding that they have been "driven on Bungie's side by a desire to raise new funds for the studio, its projects and staff", and that the two parties are yet to agree on a price. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/09/destiny-2-beyond-light-reveal-trailer"] It's unclear whether those talks are still open, or if the difference in pricing has led to the matter being closed. It's an interesting proposition given Bungie's relationship with Microsoft, who purchased the studio back in 2000, spawning many successful Halo games. Bungie later split from the Xbox crowd in 2007 before returning with Destiny in 2014 as part of a ten-year partnership with series publisher Activision. However, Activision and Bungie mutually parted ways early in 2019, with the developer maintaining the rights to Destiny. It's clear that Bungie is apparently prepared to drive a hard bargain if they were to get back into bed with Microsoft. Back in July, ex-Bungie board member Marty O'Donnell noted that Bungie almost went back to Microsoft after the separation, but the publisher would not let the studio retain the Destiny IP, so Bungie dealt with Activision instead. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

The Nintendo Switch was once again the best-selling system in August 2020, and it also set the record for the Highest August dollar sales for a hardware platform in US history, surpassing the August 2008 dollar sales of the Nintendo Wii. As revealed by The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella, the Switch also more than doubled its unit sales total from August 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/20/madden-21-review"] As for games, Madden NFL 2021 was the best-selling title of August 2020, achieving a "double-digit percentage dollar sales growth compared to the release month of Madden NFL 20." It debuted at the 6th best-selling game of 2020, and this marks the 21st consecutive year a Madden NFL franchise game has been the best-selling title in its release month. UFC 4 claimed the second spot, setting a new franchise record, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare took third place. Final Fantasy VII Remake returned to the top 20 best-selling list at #19 after finishing #41 in July 2020, following a discount in the month of August. In addition to the Switch selling incredibly well, Nintendo games accounted for 10 of the top 20 games this month. The full list of August 2020's top 20 best-selling games is as follows; [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/03/super-mario-3d-all-stars-official-trailer"]

August 2020's Best-Selling Games

1. Madden NFL 21
2. UFC 4
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
4. Ghost of Tsushima
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
6. Ring Fit Adventure
7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
9. Paper Mario: The Origami King
10. Mortal Kombat 11
11. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
12. The Last of Us Part 2
13. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
14. PGA Tour 2K21
15. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
16. Super Mario Party
17. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
18. Super Mario Odyssey
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake
20. Luigi's Mansion 3

Consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories was $3.3 billion, a 37% increase when compared to August 2019. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-reviewed-games-of-2020&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.

The Nintendo Switch was once again the best-selling system in August 2020, and it also set the record for the Highest August dollar sales for a hardware platform in US history, surpassing the August 2008 dollar sales of the Nintendo Wii. As revealed by The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella, the Switch also more than doubled its unit sales total from August 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/20/madden-21-review"] As for games, Madden NFL 2021 was the best-selling title of August 2020, achieving a "double-digit percentage dollar sales growth compared to the release month of Madden NFL 20." It debuted at the 6th best-selling game of 2020, and this marks the 21st consecutive year a Madden NFL franchise game has been the best-selling title in its release month. UFC 4 claimed the second spot, setting a new franchise record, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare took third place. Final Fantasy VII Remake returned to the top 20 best-selling list at #19 after finishing #41 in July 2020, following a discount in the month of August. In addition to the Switch selling incredibly well, Nintendo games accounted for 10 of the top 20 games this month. The full list of August 2020's top 20 best-selling games is as follows; [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/03/super-mario-3d-all-stars-official-trailer"]

August 2020's Best-Selling Games

1. Madden NFL 21
2. UFC 4
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
4. Ghost of Tsushima
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
6. Ring Fit Adventure
7. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
9. Paper Mario: The Origami King
10. Mortal Kombat 11
11. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
12. The Last of Us Part 2
13. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
14. PGA Tour 2K21
15. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
16. Super Mario Party
17. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
18. Super Mario Odyssey
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake
20. Luigi's Mansion 3

Consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories was $3.3 billion, a 37% increase when compared to August 2019. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-reviewed-games-of-2020&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.

Star Citizen creator Christopher Roberts has said that gameplay features promised several years ago are "not a pipe dream." In a thread on the Roberts Space Industries forum, the game's creator discussed the lack of "atmospheric room systems" in Star Citizen with user Camural, who had raised the point that it had been four years since the feature was shown without certain aspects being implemented in the game. Roberts replied directly to Camural noting the difficulties of adding these systems, and the time it was taking to get them into the game. "We are just going for a higher level of systemic gameplay (versus scripted) than most if not all games, and to architect all of this so it works in multiplayer at scale is no small feat." Roberts also talked about his ambition for the atmospheric room systems, and how Star Citizen will eventually allow for intricate oxygen, fire, room, pipe and player status systems that react to damage and force ship crews to work together and react in real-time or face explosions and fires. Camural replied to Roberts calling his response "the same old same old," and suggesting that Roberts' ideas will take "another 10-20 years" to bring to fruition. This prompted a more detailed response from the game's creator about the general state of Star Citizen, and what players can expect from the current content roadmap. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/12/star-citizen-cast-includes-gillian-anderson-mark-hamill-gary-oldman-more-ign-news"] "I sense from your reply to me that it's the time taken and priorities that you're frustrated with, as you feel like we're focusing on the wrong things. I can see that point of view, but you're looking at it from the outside without the full knowledge of exactly what it will take, and the order it needs to be done in to deliver the gameplay that will set Star Citizen apart from everything else," Roberts explains. "This is the game I've dreamed of my whole life. Now I am in a position to realize it, I am not willing to compromise it's potential because it is taking longer than I originally envisioned. What I will commit to, and what is an internal priority is to improve the current gameplay and quality of life as we go, as Star Citizen is already fun in many ways, even if more buggy and not as stable as I would like, and just finishing off and polishing the basics will make it play as well or better than most other games," he continues. "I can promise you the gameplay I described is not a pipe dream, nor will it take 10 to 20 years to deliver. I described systems we either have working or are working on." In other Star Citizen news, you can check out our video detailing an escape from Klescher Prison utilising the Jail features added in the 3.9 Alpha Update. The game raised $34.91 million during 2017, which was more than twice the takings of all games funding drives on Kickstarter in that year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Star Citizen creator Christopher Roberts has said that gameplay features promised several years ago are "not a pipe dream." In a thread on the Roberts Space Industries forum, the game's creator discussed the lack of "atmospheric room systems" in Star Citizen with user Camural, who had raised the point that it had been four years since the feature was shown without certain aspects being implemented in the game. Roberts replied directly to Camural noting the difficulties of adding these systems, and the time it was taking to get them into the game. "We are just going for a higher level of systemic gameplay (versus scripted) than most if not all games, and to architect all of this so it works in multiplayer at scale is no small feat." Roberts also talked about his ambition for the atmospheric room systems, and how Star Citizen will eventually allow for intricate oxygen, fire, room, pipe and player status systems that react to damage and force ship crews to work together and react in real-time or face explosions and fires. Camural replied to Roberts calling his response "the same old same old," and suggesting that Roberts' ideas will take "another 10-20 years" to bring to fruition. This prompted a more detailed response from the game's creator about the general state of Star Citizen, and what players can expect from the current content roadmap. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/12/star-citizen-cast-includes-gillian-anderson-mark-hamill-gary-oldman-more-ign-news"] "I sense from your reply to me that it's the time taken and priorities that you're frustrated with, as you feel like we're focusing on the wrong things. I can see that point of view, but you're looking at it from the outside without the full knowledge of exactly what it will take, and the order it needs to be done in to deliver the gameplay that will set Star Citizen apart from everything else," Roberts explains. "This is the game I've dreamed of my whole life. Now I am in a position to realize it, I am not willing to compromise it's potential because it is taking longer than I originally envisioned. What I will commit to, and what is an internal priority is to improve the current gameplay and quality of life as we go, as Star Citizen is already fun in many ways, even if more buggy and not as stable as I would like, and just finishing off and polishing the basics will make it play as well or better than most other games," he continues. "I can promise you the gameplay I described is not a pipe dream, nor will it take 10 to 20 years to deliver. I described systems we either have working or are working on." In other Star Citizen news, you can check out our video detailing an escape from Klescher Prison utilising the Jail features added in the 3.9 Alpha Update. The game raised $34.91 million during 2017, which was more than twice the takings of all games funding drives on Kickstarter in that year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Oculus Quest 2 has leaked, revealing a new look, higher-quality display, 6GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and more. The Facebook Blueprint website currently lists the Quest 2 alongside a 3-minute introductory video. Another trailer has been removed, but has been rehosted on YouTube. Those videos reveal a number of features of the upgraded all-in-one VR headset. Coming in a white colour scheme, the headset features a new display with over 50% higher pixel density than Quest and almost 2K resolution per eye. It's smaller and lighter than the original, and the controllers have been given a tweak to improve ergonomics. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=oculus-quest-2-images&captions=true"] As for the internals, the Quest 2 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Processor, 6GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage, potentially making for a far smoother experience than the original headset. It can still be connected to a PC using Oculus Link in order to play higher-powered games. No price or release date has been listed at time of writing. We awarded the original Oculus Quest a 9.5/10 review, calling it "the true future of virtual reality" - here's hoping that future's even brighter in the next iteration. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Oculus Quest 2 has leaked, revealing a new look, higher-quality display, 6GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and more. The Facebook Blueprint website currently lists the Quest 2 alongside a 3-minute introductory video. Another trailer has been removed, but has been rehosted on YouTube. Those videos reveal a number of features of the upgraded all-in-one VR headset. Coming in a white colour scheme, the headset features a new display with over 50% higher pixel density than Quest and almost 2K resolution per eye. It's smaller and lighter than the original, and the controllers have been given a tweak to improve ergonomics. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=oculus-quest-2-images&captions=true"] As for the internals, the Quest 2 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Processor, 6GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage, potentially making for a far smoother experience than the original headset. It can still be connected to a PC using Oculus Link in order to play higher-powered games. No price or release date has been listed at time of writing. We awarded the original Oculus Quest a 9.5/10 review, calling it "the true future of virtual reality" - here's hoping that future's even brighter in the next iteration. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

A Ghost of Tsushima art book has revealed more details about the game's upcoming 'Legends' co-op mode, which is set to arrive during Fall 2020. Fans have been receiving 'The Art of Ghost of Tsushima' recently, with many taking to YouTube and forums like ResetEra to share the extra details found within the artbook. A new character called the 'Storyteller' is set to appear, a masked traveller who is "all-seeing and all-knowing." The landscapes in the Legends mode are also described as having "a more dream-like quality" than the main game, with "exaggerated features and a different color palette" inspired by ancient Japanese woodblock prints. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/17/ghost-of-tsushima-legends-announcement-trailer"] TheSushiSquire's video also shows off some new enemy types and bosses, including a creepy masked warrior who transforms into a beast with gnarled limbs (who wouldn't look out of place in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice) – that boss is shown to have multiple phases, implying we'll be taking on monsters for longer boss fights than most of Tsushima's brief combat encounters. We also see different classes of Oni demons, as well as Tengu, which will likly be your more basic enemies. The video also offers a glimpse at the game's menus, which look typically minimalist and tinged with a red hue. It looks as if there will be new resources or currencies available in Legends, and new menu screens for Crafting and Feats tease new features coming to the game as part of the upcoming co-op mode. According to the Google Books page for The Art of Ghost of Tsushima, there are nearly 20 pages of concepts and details about the Legends DLC. Ghost of Tsushima: Legends' online co-op will be free upon the expansion's launch in Fall 2020. You can read more about what to expect from the new mode here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A Ghost of Tsushima art book has revealed more details about the game's upcoming 'Legends' co-op mode, which is set to arrive during Fall 2020. Fans have been receiving 'The Art of Ghost of Tsushima' recently, with many taking to YouTube and forums like ResetEra to share the extra details found within the artbook. A new character called the 'Storyteller' is set to appear, a masked traveller who is "all-seeing and all-knowing." The landscapes in the Legends mode are also described as having "a more dream-like quality" than the main game, with "exaggerated features and a different color palette" inspired by ancient Japanese woodblock prints. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/17/ghost-of-tsushima-legends-announcement-trailer"] TheSushiSquire's video also shows off some new enemy types and bosses, including a creepy masked warrior who transforms into a beast with gnarled limbs (who wouldn't look out of place in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice) – that boss is shown to have multiple phases, implying we'll be taking on monsters for longer boss fights than most of Tsushima's brief combat encounters. We also see different classes of Oni demons, as well as Tengu, which will likly be your more basic enemies. The video also offers a glimpse at the game's menus, which look typically minimalist and tinged with a red hue. It looks as if there will be new resources or currencies available in Legends, and new menu screens for Crafting and Feats tease new features coming to the game as part of the upcoming co-op mode. According to the Google Books page for The Art of Ghost of Tsushima, there are nearly 20 pages of concepts and details about the Legends DLC. Ghost of Tsushima: Legends' online co-op will be free upon the expansion's launch in Fall 2020. You can read more about what to expect from the new mode here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.