Streams of a song featured at the end of the newest episode of HBO's The Last of Us surged by more than 1,000% on Spotify, the streaming service has announced.

The cover of Shawn James' "Through the Valley" by Ashley Johnson and Chris Rondinella jumped by more than 1,000% in the US since Episode 2 aired on Sunday, April 20. Developer Naughty Dog responded to Spotify's announcement with a heart emoji. Presumably streams of James' original version rose, too, but Spotify didn't release any stats about this.

Johnson, of course, performed the role of Ellie in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us video games and originally recorded the cover of "Through the Valley" to promote The Last of Us: Part II in 2016.

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Mantic Games, the team behind Halo: Flashpoint and Worms: The Board Game, has revealed a Kickstarter campaign for a new Assassin’s Creed board game. Assassin’s Creed: Animus will let you dive into the Assassin’s Creed story with up to three other players, though further details are scarce. You can, however, sign up to be notified when the Kickstarter officially opens--for now, the landing page offers just the smallest glimpse into what the game will entail.

According to the current listing, Assassin’s Creed: Animus is a board game built for two to four players. Rounds can last up to 90 minutes and take you through multiple historical eras, allowing you to craft your own adventure in the Assassin’s Creed universe. A blog post from Mantic Games revealed a bit more about Animus, including asymmetrical characters and the need to balance your own objectives while fending off the other players.

Assassin's Creed: Animus

It sounds quite intriguing--and considering Mantic Games is responsible for plenty of other video game adaptations, it’s certainly one to keep your eye on. Be sure to sign up for notifications if you’re interested in checking out Assassin’s Creed: Animus or backing its campaign.

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Currently standing as 2025's best-reviewed game, tied only with Blue Prince, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a phenomenal experience from a gameplay, narrative, and soundtrack perspective. What really resonated with my first playthrough of the new RPG though, was the music. Composed over five years by Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur's music stands with the potential to be crowned one of the best videogame soundtracks of all time.

Among the 154 songs that compose the game's eight hours of music sits the beautiful "Until Next Life," which marks actor Ben Starr's first foray into performing video game music. Starr, who plays Verso in the game, tells GameSpot the amusing tale of how Testard approached him to sing on the soundtrack.

"I've been in this industry for about five minutes, so I really haven't done a lot, relative to a lot of my amazing colleagues and peers. I'm trying to do everything everywhere, all at once. Really, I feel like I'm juggling 1,000 things and wearing a million different hats," he begins, "I might never get to do it again. I was in Montpellier, and [Testard] just sidled up to me, and I was really intimidated because this was the first time I was meeting him. I've heard his work and I was like, 'I don't want to embarass myself.' Then he pulled me aside and I was like, 'What's going on?' He just said, 'I'd like you to sing on the soundtrack. Would you want to do it?'

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Jennifer Aniston has reacted to her unexpected cameo in HBO's The Last of Us, an appearance many didn't even realize she made--and for good reason.

In the Season 2 premiere on April 13, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) finds a 2003 copy of People Magazine showing Aniston front and center in the Best & Worst Dressed issue. In The Last of Us lore, 2003 was when the outbreak that caused a global pandemic began.

Aniston shared a photo from the episode on her Instagram stories (via EW), writing, "Of all the things to survive the apocalypse" with a laughing-face emoji attached. She also tagged the official Last of Us TV show account.

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Ubisoft has announced that The Division 2's next expansion, Battle for Brooklyn, will launch on May 27. That's right, the six-year-old game is still getting more content as part of a Year 7 update.

Battle for Brooklyn is set during Fall, and that's a time of year not yet seen in The Division 2. Players will trek through places like Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo to take on a "fresh crop of secrets and challenges." Ubisoft also noted that the story for Battle for Brooklyn doesn't necessarily require players to be totally caught up. It aims to be "approachable for new players," Ubisoft said.

Players will fight Cleaners and Rikers who have made their way across the river from Manhattan. The enemies are now equipped with "Purple Flame," which is a new type of weapon that players haven't faced before in The Division 2. Like the base game, Battle for Brooklyn is playable solo or with others in co-op.

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Whether you're just starting out in Schedule 1, or you're a seasoned mogul wanting to make some more money quickly, there are plenty of ways to earn more cash. Ultimately, money will be the deciding factor in the expansion of your empire, so it's the most vital objective.

We've got a list of the most efficient ways to make money fast in Schedule 1, whether you stick to legitimate ways, or use things like the infinite money glitch to your advantage. Make sure to check our list of Schedule 1 cheats and console commands for the money cheat, if that's your thing.

Watch your balance go up fast.

Firstly, you'll want to always charge more than the customer offers. Whether that's by a couple of dollars, or even as much as $30 more, you can push your luck with most clientele. That small margin of profit becoming wider will net you easier money faster, especially in the early game. Similarly, by underdelivering, you can save a few dollars of manufacturing cost. Be careful with this, as customers will begin to have a negative opinion of you, affecting your reputation. It's usually safer to underdeliver by one or two bags to customers who place large orders. This makes your product go further, and increases your overall profit margin.

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Elden Ring: The Board Game - Realm of The Grafted King

$200 (was $185)

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Elden Ring: The Board Game - Stormveil Castle

$112 (was $130)

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Elden Ring: The Board Game - Weeping Peninsula

$110 (was $120)

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Steamforged Games recently adapted From Software's epic RPG Elden Ring into board game form. However, at $200 for the Elden Ring: The Board Game - Realm of the Grafted King base set, it's an expensive release to add to your table. Luckily, if you act fast, you can save a few dollars by purchasing Elden Ring: The Board Game - Realm of the Grafted King for $185 from third-party sellers at Amazon while supplies last. You'll also find similar discounts for the game's standalone expansions, Stormveil Castle and Weeping Peninsula.

Elden Ring: The Board Game - Realm of The Grafted King $200 (was $185)

Like Steamforged's other tabletop adaptations--which include other From Software properties like Bloodborne and Dark Souls--Elden Ring: The Board Game combines elements of board games and tabletop RPGs to create an epic analog version of the acclaimed open-world dark fantasy video game. It's designed for 1-4 players, and each player controls their own customizable character as they explore Limgrave, which fans of the video game will recognize as the Elden Ring's iconic opening zone. Combat uses a dice-less, card-based ruleset that is designed to match Elden Ring's characteristic challenging gameplay.

Elden Ring: The Board Game - The Realm of the Grafted King base set features 54 unpainted miniatures to represent the player characters and various enemies and bosses--including large bosses and high-level monsters like Margit and The Tree Sentinel--plus everything you need to play, including card decks, tokens, exploration and combat maps, rulebook, and scenario book.

See at Amazon Elden Ring: The Board Game - Stormveil Castle $112 (was $130)

Elden Ring: The Board Game - Stormveil Castle is one of two standalone expansions available for the game, meaning you can pick it up by itself and play without needing The Realm of The Grafted King set. You'll get a unique set of rules, a scenario book, and all the gameplay materials you need for playing through the video game's first major dungeon, Stormveil Castle. However, this is a much smaller box, with just 22 minis (including a massive Godrick the Grafted figure) and fewer starting class options for players, so it's worth considering the main set if you want a more fleshed-out experience.

See at Amazon Elden Ring: The Board Game - Weeping Peninsula $110 (was $120)

Much like the Stormveil Castle set, the Weeping Peninsula is a standalone expansion you can add to the base game or purchase and play by itself. This release includes 20 unique miniatures, scenario book, rulebook, and gameplay materials based on the Weeping Peninsula are from the video game. The set's large marquee figure is the Leonine Misbegotten, which acts as the final boss of the expansion's quest line.

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If Amazon sells out, you can also buy the Stormveil Castle and Weeping Peninsula expansions at Steamforged Games' online store, though The Realm of the Grafted King base set is sold out. It's also worth noting that two other Elden Ring: The Board Game releases--the Limgrave Depths standalone expansion and the Erdtree Avatar--are also available to preorder exclusively at Steamforged Games. The Limgrave Depths set is like the other standalone expansions and can be played by itself, while the Erdtree Avatar requires either the base set or one of the expansions.

Elden Ring: The Board Game looks to be a great way to revisit the Lands Between, especially while waiting for the upcoming Elden Ring: Nightreign. This new game remixes the original Elden Ring into a co-op multiplayer game where squards of up to three players embark on excursions through the new realm of Lindveld to explore, battle bosses, and collect loot before three in-game days pass. Each run is unique, featuring procedurally generated landscapes, dungeons, and enemy placements. Elden Ring: Nightreign launches on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on May 30, and preorders are available now.

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In 2025, you're spoilt for choice when it comes to gaming, as more and more top quality titles are being released one after the other. Developer Sandfall Interactive faced an unusual and unexpected challenge, as Bethesda announced and released Oblivion Remastered just days before the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Speaking to GameSpot ahead of the release, Ben Starr, who voices the mysterious character of Verso in the game, said this isn't actually a bad thing at all, despite challenges that the small studio of just 30 developers may face. "I think when it comes to that, one thing that we can absolutely speak to is how exciting it is that we're in 2025--a year that, whatever your gaming tastes, whether you're obsessed with Blue Prince, whether you're obsessed with Oblivion, whether you're excited for Doom: The Dark Ages, whether you're excited for Clair Obscur, you have so much diversity to explore.

Starr voices the mysterious Verso in Clair Obscur.

"I think Expedition 33 is this amazing new IP that doesn't come along very often. You've got two ends of the spectrum. You've got the remake of the masterpiece that is Oblivion, the juggernaut that is Oblivion, and you've got this new IP that is Expedition 33, and hopefully they can exist alongside each other," he explains.

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Unknown Worlds--the studio behind 2014's terrifying underwater adventure, Subnautica--has released a new developer vlog detailing the studio's progress on the long-awaited Subnautica 2, which was officially announced last October.

The vlog gives players their first close-up look at one of the game's most anticipated features: a four-player co-op mode that allows players to explore the depths of an alien planet with friends by their side--a stark contrast from the original game's solo journey through the deep.

"For the first time, you’ll have the chance to experience Subnautica 2 with your friends in co-op," design lead Anthony Gallegos explained, showing off footage of multiple players exploring the underwater world.

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People can now play Xbox games in a new place, with no requirement of owning an Xbox. Microsoft has announced that beginning today, April 23, the Xbox app is now available on some LG televisions, which means anyone owning one of these sets can install the Xbox app to play games via Game Pass.

Supported TVs include 2022 OLED TVs, 2023 Smart TVs, and newer ones, along with monitors running webOS24 or newer. For more, check out the full list of supported devices.

This is part of Microsoft's "This Is An Xbox" ad campaign that aims to inform or remind people that a device they may already own--including TVs, smartphones, and tablets--can play Xbox games. This is made possible through Game Pass Ultimate ($20/month), which allows users to stream games.

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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is filled with goofy NPCs and memorable bits of dialogue, and now one the game's most infamous bloopers has been made even better in the newly released Oblivion Remastered.

There's plenty new and different in Oblivion Remastered, with fancy new Unreal Engine 5 visuals, updated UI elements, and more. Some NPCs have even been given new voiceovers to make up for the fact that the same handful of voices were used over and over again in the original.

However, one of the original game's most infamous voice lines, spoken by the Speechcraft trainer Tandilwe, is wonderfully intact. Tandilwe tells players:

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Console commands are a part of the very fabric that makes up Bethesda RPGs. While they're exclusive to the PC versions of games, console commands offer players a way to gain a small, or large, edge during their playthrough. The original Oblivion featured a laundry list of console commands, and Oblivion Remastered has brought all of them back.

Some console commands are fairly harmless in Cyrodiil, while others can completely alter your playthrough. You can activate god mode to rain down hellfire on the citizens of the country, or simply add some items to your inventory that you need for a quest. In any case, you can see a complete list of every console command and how to use them in Oblivion Remastered below. Naturally, for much more on the game, refer to our complete Oblivion Remastered walkthrough.

Table of Contents [hide]

• How to use console commands in Oblivion Remastered

How to use console commands in Oblivion Remastered

First up, let's talk about how to use console commands. As previously mentioned, this is a PC-only feature in Oblivion Remastered, so PlayStation and Xbox players will have to sit this one out.

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The NBA is collaborating with Fortnite once again, this year dropping a pair of new NBA-themed skins based on Axo and Fishstick. In this drop, the fan-favorite Fortnite characters are sporting jackets that feature the team logos from either the Eastern or Western Conferences as style options, and their heads have been redesigned slightly to make them look like basketballs. This new set will hit the item shop on Thursday.

What the new NBA cosmetics look like.

In addition to the skins themselves, the new set of cosmetics includes two back blings, two pickaxes, and two emotes--and it'll reportedly be available all in one bundle. The highlight here may well be one of the back blings, actually. There's a mini jumbotron back bling in the set that counts your kills during a round, and lights up and plays arena organ music every time you defeat an enemy player. That back bling will be available to buy on its own for 400 V-Bucks.

The bundle that includes everything will reportedly cost 2200 V-Bucks, with each of the skins costing 1200 separately. The pickaxes are 500 each, and the emotes will be 300 each.

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Sony will release a new system software update for PlayStation 5 on April 24, and it will bring back the PS5 home screen UI designs based on Sony's previous consoles.

These UI themes based on PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4 were first released last December to celebrate PlayStation's 30th anniversary. They were warmly received at the time of release, but were only available for a limited time and were gone by the end of January. When Sony removed the themes, it teased that it would eventually bring them back, and this April 24 system update will do just that.

According to a new PlayStation Blog post, Sony is now calling this feature "Appearance" rather than "Themes," and a dedicated Appearance sub-menu will be added to the PS5's system settings menu. After updating the console, players set one of these new appearances by following these steps:

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Reviews for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have dropped, and it's now right up there with Blue Prince as one of the best-reviewed games of 2025.

Looking at GameSpot sister site Metacritic, you'll see that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 shares an aggregate Metascore of 92 with Blue Prince. Upon further investigation the individual pages for each game, though, you'll see that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has a Metascore of 95 on Xbox Series X|S, 91 on PC, and 92 on PS5, while Blue Prince has a 92 on PC, 84 on PS5, and 89 on Xbox. That gives Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a slight edge, even though it's technically tied with Blue Prince on Metacritic's best-reviewed games list.

It's an impressive feat for the first game from the new studio Sandfall Interactive. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a new turn-based RPG inspired by classics in the genre. It's set in a world where everyone above a certain age dies when a number is painted in the sky, and players set off as part of the titular expedition in hopes of defeating the Paintress behind this. Its provocative story and intense RPG gameplay really resonated with critics, including GameSpot's own.

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A senior game designer who worked on the original The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has called the amount of work put into the newly released Oblivion Remastered "staggering," and that they aren't sure simply calling it a "remaster" does the project justice.

In an interview with VideoGamer, Bruce Nesmith, who left Bethesda Game Studios during the development of Starfield, said he didn't know about Oblivion Remastered until it began to leak online. He believed Oblivion Remastered would turn out to be something more similar in scale to Skyrim: Special Edition.

Instead, he was surprised by the amount of work done to the 20-year-old game.

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For the last two years, I've anxiously awaited a "perfect moment" to play Baldur's Gate 3, the hit RPG that made D&D converts of non-believers and absolute freaks out of my diehard RPG friends and family. I missed its early-access period, and lacked a capable PC when it was launched, meaning my best bet at getting in on the fun was on console. When it eventually landed there, I was dismayed by its controls, as well as the fact that I overcame a tremendous hurdle only to find a crucial party character had met an unfortunate and grisly end, and was put off at the thought of continuing--or worse, restarting--my journey.

At last though, Baldur's Gate 3's final major patch is out. The last bit of content that players are going to get out of Larian is officially in the game, rather than a rogue test branch. That means there are now a metric ton of new subclasses to play with, as if the game needed any more mechanical depth than was already present. There's (finally) a photo mode for folks who might want to scrapbook their way through the Forgotten Realms or get the perfect shot of Astarion to print out, hang in their room, and thirstily pant at. Cross-play finally allows me and numerous others to bridge the divide between consoles and PC, and modding tools have been fully surrendered to the community. The game's future is now firmly in the hands of its most stalwart and fire-forged adventurers. It seems that if there were ever a moment to jump into Baldur's Gate 3, it's now.

Which got me thinking about how much Baldur's Gate 3 has outright changed--a previously abnormal quality for a largely single-player RPG, that is become more common in recent years--over the course of its lifetime, and how glad I am that the story of the game's development has finally come to a close.

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A disclaimer on the Nintendo website stating various games, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, would not support the save data cloud backup feature has been removed, and in its place is a new disclaimer that clarifies the situation.

As spotted by Nintendo Life, the original disclaimer and any mention of cloud saves potentially not being supported has been removed from games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV. In Tears of the Kingdom's case, a new disclaimer can be found:

"Save data created in the second save data slot in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-- Nintendo Switch 2 Edition cannot be transferred to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch."

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Catan 6th Edition

$50

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One of the most popular strategy board games of all time has received a new edition. Catan's 6th Edition is now available to purchase at Amazon for $50. The new edition is the same game you know and love, just with quality-of-life improvements, a fresh coat of paint, and an improved rulebook that will make it easier than ever for new players to learn the basics.

Multiple of Catan's most-played expansions have also received updated editions. Fans can get the 6th Edition of the Seafarers Expansion for $50 and Cities & Knights for $55. If you want to play with more than four players, Catan Studio updated the 5-6 Player Expansion add-ons for the base game as well as the two expansions.

Catan Board Game 6th Edition & Expansions

• Catan Board Game (6th Edition) -- $50
• Catan: Seafarers Expansion (6th Edition) -- $50
• Catan: Cities & Knights Expansion (6th Edition) -- $55
• Catan Board Game - 5-6 Player Expansion (6th Edition) -- $30
• Catan: Seafarers - 5-6 Player Expansion (6th Edition) -- $30
• Catan: Cities & Knights - 5-6 Player Expansion (6th Edition) -- $32
• Catan Board Game - Replacement Card Set (6th Edition) -- $14
• Catan: Cities & Knights - Replacement Card Set (6th Edition) -- $14

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Catan first launched in 1995, with each new edition slightly tweaking its appearance and gameplay. The fifth edition in 2015 marked a big change for the brand, as it moved from “The Settlers of Catan” to simply “Catan.” This new sixth edition doesn’t do anything quite so radical, but it does offer a more inclusive adventure and an improved eco-friendly design.

Here’s a look at everything that’s changed:

• Updated graphics: You’ll now find brighter artwork and modern designs that make the game easier to parse. This also includes new character illustrations with greater diversity.
• Premium, eco-friendly components: Components are crafted with less plastic and an eye for sustainability. You’ll also find new textured hex tiles and updated card trays that make it easier to stay organized.
• Smart storage: The 5-6 Player Extension Pack contents can now fit inside the base game box, so you can more easily transport all your pieces.
• Improved rulebook: While the rules are the same, the rulebook has been updated with clearer graphics and gameplay examples, helping new players learn the basics.

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If you own other Catan expansions, you should be able to use them with the new 6th Edition. The rules remain the same across all editions, but you’ll have to deal with conflicting art styles.

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Nintendo has dropped some bad news for Japanese consumers looking to get the Switch 2 console directly from the company, as it has confirmed that a "significant" number of customers there will not be selected as winners of the My Nintendo Store lottery sale. In a statement, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa apologized for the situation and said that applications had exceeded the company's expectations.

"To deliver Nintendo Switch 2 to all of you, we have been procuring a large number of components in advance and proceeding with production," Furukawa said on Nintendo's Japanese X account (via a VGC translation). "On April 2, we announced the details of Nintendo Switch 2 and began accepting applications for a lottery sale on the My Nintendo Store. As a result, we received applications from an astonishing 2.2 million people in Japan alone. However, this far exceeded our prior expectations and greatly surpasses the number of Nintendo Switch 2 units we can deliver from the My Nintendo Store on June 5. Consequently, it is with great regret that we anticipate a significant number of customers will not be selected in tomorrow's lottery announcement on April 24."

Nintendo will host a second lottery event in Japan, but Furukawa stressed that Switch 2 supplies will still be limited. The company also plans to improve on production of the Switch 2 past the initial launch period, and it currently recommends that Japanese fans make plans to purchase the console from other retailers and online store.

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