Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is scheduled to release on August 29, and PC preorders are currently seeing a nice discount at Fanatical. Head over to the online retailer to find the Steam version of the game on sale for $23.69 (was $30). If you want some digital goodies, the Deluxe Edition is also on sale for $31.59 (was $40). Regardless of which version you preorder, you’ll get the Original Arcade Outfit and Fortune Hunter Amulet as a bonus. You'll also get a 5% off voucher for your next purchase at Fanatical.

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Created by the same folks responsible for the fantastic Streets of Rage 4, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is shaping up to be a welcome revival for the 2D action game. Featuring bold hand-drawn graphics and taking deep inspiration from The Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi 3, it’s a fresh blend of nostalgia and new mechanics. Art of Vengeance marks the first Shinobi game from Sega in over a decade.

This is the best discount we’ve seen since it was opened for preorder a few days ago, and since it comes with a nice preorder bonus and is offered as a Steam key, it’s the ideal way for PC players to snag the game. Note that Steam is also discounting the game right now, but it’s still more expensive than this deal at Fanatical.

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Epic has published its Epic Games Store Year In Review for 2024, revealing more details about the performance of its PC storefront and what it has planned for 2025. According to Epic, it saw 295 million users on PC in 2024, an overall increase of 25 million people year-over-year. And the free game giveaways aren't going anywhere.

The company says that it grew Epic cross-platform accounts to 898 million users during this time period--an increase of 94 million people--and this stat includes accounts created through partner platforms and the Epic Games Store on mobile, which recently launched on iOS in Europe and worldwide on Android devices. In terms of daily active users, there was a peak of 37.2 million people and monthly active users peaked at 74 million, slightly down from last year's record of 75 million MAU.

Top titles in 2024 by player spending and engagement

• Genshin Impact
• Rocket League
• Honkai Star Rail
• Grand Theft Auto 5
• Fortnite
• EA Sports FC 24
• Destiny 2: The Final Shape
• Alan Wake 2
• Fall Guys
• Wuthering Waves
• Cyberpunk 2077
• The Sims 4
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Satisfactory
• Warframe 1999
• Farming Simulator 22
• Dead by Daylight
• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Dead Island 2

HoyoVerse games are incredibly popular on the Epic Games StoreGallery

In terms of games, Epic says 1,100 games were released on the Epic Games Store and spending--including Epic's games--achieved $1.09 billion in 2024, an increase of 15% when compared to 2023. Epic noted that player spending on third-party applications totaled $255 million last year, and while this is an 18% decrease year-on-year, it doesn't account for publishers generating revenue via their own payment solutions.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may not have led to a cinematic D&D franchise, but the classic role-playing game is getting another chance to break out in live-action. Netflix is reportedly developing a new Dungeons & Dragons series called The Forgotten Realms, which will be produced by Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy.

According to Deadline, Drew Crevello will serve as the writer and showrunner of The Forgotten Realms, which will be produced by Levy's 21 Laps production company as well as Hasbro Entertainment. Forgotten Realms is one of the most popular campaign settings for D&D players, and even Honor Among Thieves was set among the Realms. However, the new D&D series will be unrelated to Honor Among Thieves or any previous attempt to adapt the franchise.

The report notes that this series "could launch a D&D universe" at Netflix, which would potentially span additional shows or even original movies. This news follows the recent announcement that D&D's parent company, Wizards of the Coast, is also developing Magic: The Gathering as a shared universe that spans films and TV shows. Netflix is working on a Magic: The Gathering animated series, but the streamer isn't presently attached to any live-action projects in that universe.

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Elden Ring Nightreign preorders just opened a few days ago, but the PC version is already discounted at Fanatical. Both the standard edition and Deluxe Edition are on sale--and since they’re offered as Steam keys, they’re currently the cheapest (and best) way for PC players to reserve the game. It’s unclear how long the deal will last, so check it out soon if you’re interested.

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Fanatical is offering the Elden Ring Nightreign standard edition for just $35.19 (was $40). If you’d like to pick up additional playable characters and bosses, along with a digital artbook and mini soundtrack, the is $48.39 (was $55). Regardless of which you choose, you’ll get a free Gesture as a preorder bonus. A 5% off voucher for your next purchase at Fanatical is also included.

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Shatterscarp is the third location you can visit in Avowed and as always, Sanza has a cartographer missing somewhere in the region. When you arrive in the main hub city of Thirdborn, a new Mapping the Living Lands quest will appear in your journal. If you read the journal entry, you'll see that Sanza's missing cartographer has disappeared near a lone spire by the sea.

While you can spend hours patrolling the coasts of Shatterscarp in Avowed, you can see exactly where the cartographer is located by reading the guide below.

Shatterscarp Cartographer location in Avowed

With Shatterscarp being directly on the ocean, there are plenty of places you can check for a "spire by the sea." The word spire is fairly vague, as it could be a physical building or something formed by nature.

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Avowed developer Obsidian Entertainment has a goal to be around for at least 100 years--it's already a 22-year-old institution--and its current leadership team believes it can meet this ambitious goal by taking a pragmatic approach to developing new video games.

Speaking at the DICE Summit this week (via PC Gamer), Obsidian Entertainment VP of operations Marcus Morgan and VP of development Justin Britch explained how delivering new titles consistently and focusing on realistic sales expectations are part of its strategy to be around for another 78 years. As Morgan and Britch explained, this is part of their overall vision for the studio, with key elements revolving around staying "lean and invested" as the years tick by.

What this means in practical terms is that Obsidian is aiming for "mild success" as Britch defined it, while also ensuring that it has a manageable number of employees. Additionally, Obsidian isn't aiming to deliver games that feature groundbreaking visuals or an obscene level of scale, as the studio spends a considerable amount of time examining just how many resources it'll need to commit to a project before it's officially greenlit. This in turn allows the studio to be profitable, but not "super-profitable" with every game release.

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Bandai Namco has announced Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Battle Destiny Remastered and it is set to launch on May 22 for PC and Nintendo Switch. The original game was released in 2012 for the PlayStation Vita, but had not been released outside Japan.

In this game, players will be able to tackle its story missions and relive moments from the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny anime. There are three factions to choose from: Earth Alliance Forces, ZAFT, and the Archangel.

This remaster will have enhanced visuals and revamped user-interface readability, as well as new quality-of-life features like lock-on mode and improved tuning. The announcement trailer goes over the basic premise of the game and it also seemingly reveals that while the text is in English, the voice dub will remain Japanese-only.

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Nightdive Studios finally gave us a long-awaited update on its remaster of System Shock 2. Previously known as System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition, this modernized remaster of the iconic and influential 1999 sci-fi shooter is now titled System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, and we'll learn its release date next month.

Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios' System Shock 2 is a sci-fi shooter in which players explore and try to survive on a starship that has been taken over by an evil AI called SHODAN. While it wasn't a commercial success at the time of its release, it was trailblazing for narrative storytelling in video games, setting design standards that would go on to influence games like BioShock. It's also the game that put Nightdive Studios on the map, as it acquired the rights to the series and re-released it on Steam in 2013.

Since then, Nightdive has made a name for itself by remastering PC-shooter classics like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Quake, Rise of the Triad, and Star Wars: Dark Forces with its game engine KEX. While Nightdive retained ownership of the System Shock IP and even developed a full-on remake of the first System Shock, a KEX Engine remaster of System Shock 2 has taken a while to come out. Nightdive Studios first teased that it was working on System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition in 2019, but updates on this project have been spotty over the years.

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From Software has issued an apology for the connection issues currently plaguing the Elden Ring Nightreign network test.

From Software's Japanese player-support account on Twitter said that the servers are currently congested, which is making it difficult for players to match with each other. The account suggested to continue trying and apologized for any inconvenience.

It seems like the PlayStation servers are being hit particularly hard. "Nightfarers, the Nightreign PlayStation servers are currently under maintenance," said the official Elden Ring Twitter account. "Work is ongoing to restore server functionality. Further updates will be provided. Thank you for your patience and understanding."

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Square Enix has announced that it is ending support for the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered due to a change in the version's in-app purchase model.

Back on January 24, players reported that they couldn't access their paid additional content in the iOS version of the game. The issue impacted both the free and fully paid versions of the game on iOS.

When Square Enix investigated the issue, it figured out that changes to the in-app purchase model caused it. However, Square Enix concluded that it could not completely fix the bug while simultaneously implement the new changes. As a result, Square Enix has decided to completely cease service of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered on iOS.

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Earlier this year, Los Angeles and surrounding areas were ravaged by devastating wildfires. At the time, Pokemon Go developer Niantic assured fans that its Pokemon Go Unova Tour - Los Angeles event would go on as scheduled in February. Now, Niantic is stepping up to help aid Los Angeles' recovery efforts alongside The Pokemon Company for a joint donation of $1 million.

As announced on the official Pokemon site, Niantic will donate $500,000 to GlobalGiving's California Wildfire Relief Fund, while The Pokemon Company will distribute the remaining $500,000 to nonprofit organizations that are providing aid to the victims of the wildfire.

"Our thoughts are with those affected by the devastating wildfires in Southern California," said The Pokemon Company's Raquel Daniels in a statement. "We are grateful for the opportunity to support relief efforts in the greater Los Angeles area alongside our partners at Niantic and GlobalGiving."

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In Avowed, you can find and assemble totems in each region that provide passive buffs. In Galawain's Tusks you can assemble the Totem of Perseverance by finding the totem base and six pieces throughout the region. A list of the totem pieces can be purchased from a vendor in Solace Keep, but this list does not provide map markers for the totem pieces. Once you have collected the totem pieces, they can be assembled at camp.

The totem pieces can be collected in any order.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Totem Base

Totem BaseThe Shrine to Galawain is located in the northeast part of Twinedwood.

The Totem Base can be found in the Shrine to Galawain in the north part of Twinedwood. It is located on an altar in the west part of the shrine.

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Grasshopper Manufacture is kindly asking for people to stop dropping by its Tokyo location unannounced. In fact, the developer--founded by Suda51 and behind the No More Heroes franchise--decided to can an episode of its Dev Room series on YouTube because it may have led to even more fans randomly appearing at its office.

Automaton reported that Grasshopper Manufacture explained the situation last week on X, noting "it simply isn't possible for us to receive sudden visitors during work so often." As such, the developer is calling on fans to "refrain from showing up at the studio without a business-related appointment."

Announcement Re: The Dev Room: Ep. 49
A few days ago we posted that the release of the 49th episode of The Dev Room would be delayed due to some last-minute editing issues. During editing, there was a lot of internal discussion regarding this particular episode, and we regret to…

— Grasshopper Manufacture (@Grasshopper_EN) February 7, 2025

Founded in 1998, the studio is probably best known for No More Heroes, Killer7, and Lollipop Chainsaw. Last year, Grasshopper released Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, which doesn't take itself too seriously. Looking ahead, Suda51, whose actual name is Goichi Suda, has stated that his company will "cook for" Switch 2.

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Josef Fares, the director of It Takes Two and the upcoming Split Fiction, said that Hazelight Studios will never make a live-service game.

"We will not have them, I do not believe in them," Fares said in an interview with Eurogamer. "I think [live service] is not the right way to go. I hope more and more [developers] focus on their passion and what they believe in."

Fares explained that he understands the financial pressures of having to make live-service games, but emphasized the need to not lose all focus on creativity. He believes that there should be a balance between the financial and creative aspects, as developers can't just ask for $100 million in funding and do whatever they want.

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Earlier this year, EA officially announced that EA College Football 26 was in development for release this summer. Last year, EA offered high-profile college football players $600 each for the right to use their names, images, and likenesses in EA College Football 25. But if a new sports representative company is successful, EA may have to pay a significantly higher amount to include those players in EA College Football 26.

As reported by Yahoo Sports, Pathway Sports and Entertainment is making aggressive inroads by pursuing the elite players in college football. The company has offered players $1,500 upfront for their NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rights in addition to royalty pay that has yet to be fleshed out. Over 450 students at Alabama, Illinois, Georgia, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, and Oregon have already taken the deal, and Pathway has even grander ambitions.

Pathway is currently sending representatives to colleges across the nation with the desire to sign every football player who is on a scholarship program. There are approximately 11,000 players who have scholarships, and it would take more than $17 million to sign them all at the currently offered rate. However, the report suggests that the total payout may exceed $20 million when factoring in "ambassador payments" for certain students.

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Each region in Avowed is home to a totem you can find the pieces to and assemble, offering special passive bonuses when activated at camp. In Shatterscarp you can find the Totem of Revelations, with its six pieces and Totem Base scattered throughout the area. You can purchase a note with one-sentence hints and the names of each piece from the barkeep in Thirdborn, but it won't add markers to the map.

The totem pieces can be found in any order.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Totem Base

Totem BaseThe Shrine to Wael is in the southwest part of Shatterscarp.

The Totem Base can be found in the Shrine to Wael in the southwest region of Scatterscarp. It's inside a cave, which you must follow a path into.

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Digimon Story: Time Stranger

$70 | TBA 2025

Preorder at Amazon (PS5) Preorder at Amazon (Xbox Series X) Preorder at GameStop

Bandai Namco announced the next entry in the long-running Digimon Story RPG series, Digimon Story: Time Stranger, will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC later in 2025. The game will let players recruit and train their own team of digital monsters and use them in turn-based battles while on a time-hopping quest that spans the real and digital worlds. While no specific release date has been confirmed, preorders for the game are already live at Amazon and GameStop.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger Preorder Bonus

No preorder bonuses have been announced for Digimon Story: Time Stranger, but we'll be sure to update this post if anything new is confirmed.

Digimon Story: Time Stranger $70 | TBA 2025

So far, Bandai Namco has only announced a Digimon Story: Time Stranger standard edition that includes the base game on your platform of choice. You can preorder physical PS5 and Xbox copies at Amazon and GameStop. Digital preorders are also available on the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, and Steam. Note that the final box art has not yet been revealed.

Preorder at Amazon (PS5) Preorder at Amazon (Xbox Series X) Preorder at GameStop

While Digimon Story: Time Stranger appears to be an all-new storyline within the series, the Digimon Story franchise has been around since the Game Boy Advance. The latest prior releases in the series are Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and its prequel Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory, both of which feature similar turn-based combat and story presentation as Time Stranger. If you're looking to play them before the new game is out, you can grab both in a single package with the Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition, which is available for just $25.45 on Nintendo Switch, or $43.49 on PC via Fanatical (was $50).

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In each region of Avowed you can find and assemble a totem which provides a number of passive bonuses when activated. In the Emerald Stair region, you can assemble the Totem of Defiance, by finding the Totem Base and the six additional missing pieces. You can find a note that provides one-sentence clues to the pieces' locations from a vendor in Fior mes Ivérno, but that won't place markers on the map. Fortunately, we have the locations shown in detail below. Once you have your totem pieces, you can assemble the totem at camp and activate it for the passive stats.

The totem pieces can be collected in any order.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Totem Base

Totem BaseThe Totem Base cane be found int he Shrine to Skaen.

The Totem Base can be found in the Shrine to Skaen, located in the western part of Emerald Stair. Start at the Rock Arch Beacon fast travel point and head towards the ledge north of Delemgan Glade, and head towards some ruins further west.

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In each of Avowed's regions you can find pieces of a Totem, which provides passive buffs once activated in your camp. In order to get the most out of each Totem, you will need to find all seven pieces, including the base. The Totem of Rightful Rulership can be found in Dawnshore, the first area. There is a document you can find to add the list of totem pieces to your quest, but it doesn't provide map markers, just single-sentence clues to the pieces locations. In this guide, we'll show you where to find all pieces, including the base, which you'll need to place in your camp in order to enjoy any of its passive buffs. It's worth noting that Totem pieces can be collected in any order.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Totem Base
• Broken Crown Jewel

Totem BaseThe Totem Base can be found in the Shrine to Woedica.

The Totem Base can be found in the Shrine to Woedica, which is located in the northeast corner of Dawnshore, in the region called The Rise. The Totem Base is sitting on an altar in the center of the shrine.

The Totem Base cane be found on this shrine.Broken Crown JewelThe Broken Crown Jewel can be found in Sanza's Emporium in Northern Paradis.

The Broken Crown Jewel can be found in Northern Paradis, which is a subregion of Paradis. In Northern Paradis, head to Sanza's Emporium. Behind the vendor there is a door leading into the back room of the shop, where the jewel can be found sitting on a desk.

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If you've made your way to Emerald Stair, the second map in Avowed, then you're ready to take on another mission in the Mapping the Living Lands quest. The original mission in the quest required you to find a cartographer's location in Dawnshore for a man named Sanza. Well, as it turns out, Sanza has sent out plenty of other cartographers who haven't reported back to him, and one of them lies somewhere in Emerald Stair.

Of course, just like the one in Dawnshore, this cartographer's location is initially a mystery to you. To see exactly where the Emerald Stair cartographer is located in Avowed, keep reading the guide below.

Emerald Stair Cartographer's location in Avowed

Fortunately, the Emerald Stair cartographer isn't too far from the entrance to the map or from the town of Fior mes Iverno. Sanza says in the quest description that the cartographer wound up somewhere near a place called the Naku Tedek Grounds.

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