Art News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Next up in our IGN First coverage of Eternal Strands, we're diving into the unique and colorful art in the land of the Enclave. We sat down with art director Sebastien Primeau and lead character artist Stephanie Chafe to ask them all about it.

Isekai Dispatcher is a new title that’s a tad different on the horizon. It’s a Pixel art RPG created by Ignition M. In case you remember, I covered another quirky casual title dropped by them recently, PreCats! -Idle Cat Raising.

We are thrilled to officially announce that Darkest Dungeon II will arrive on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on July 15. You can preorder it starting today, with a discount available to PlayStation Plus members.

Last month, a hacker wreaked havoc during an esports tournament of the popular shooter game Apex Legends, hacking two well-known streamers mid-game to make it look like they were using cheats.

We’re thrilled that Venture is finally in the hero lineup, and it’s been fun to see you get your hands on their groundbreaking kit and mechanics. Today two developers who were part of our newest hero's strike team will share a behind-the-scenes look at how Venture, became Venture.

No Man's Sky lead Sean Murray has found himself as the unwitting face of the risk coders face from the rise of AI.

The Dragonflight Collector's Edition is currently on sale for only $99 USD at the Blizzard Gear Store, down from its usual $129.99! Purchase the Dragonflight Epic Edition Collector's Set

The WoW The War Within Physical Collector's edition is now available for pre-order on the Blizzard gear store for $180 USD. The Physical Collector's Edition comes with a trove of collectibles including an iconic Gryphon Rider statue, Commemorative Pin featuring Anduin, Alleria, and Thrall, and Hardcover Art Book. Pre-Order The War Within Physical Collector's Edition According to the Blizzard Gear Store: 'This is a pre-order product and is not available to ship until December 2024.'

Continuing our datamining of The War Within Alpha, we have important NPCs and unique models. These include Alleria Windrunner and Anduin, with their updated models from the War Within key art, and the dwarven family Magni, Moira, and her son Dagran, all grown up! Make sure to use our table of contents to navigate along the post.

Europa began with "peaceful and zen vibes," and after more than six years of development, it's coming to the Nintendo Switch.

If you’ve been following indie publisher Annapurna Interactive over the last two years, you might be familiar with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The new project from Sayonara Wild Hearts developer Simogo has gotten a spotlight at a handful of live-stream showcases since 2022, with trailers teasing its eerie tone and puzzling world. While we’ve known those details for a while, there’s still one burning question that remains: What the hell is it?

A Pokemon fan artist created a new Mega Evolution for the Ice and Psychic Pokemon called Jynx, and shared their artwork with their peers. The Pokemon fan artist shared the normal and shiny versions of Mega Jynx, explained the inspirations that went into the designs, and received compliments from other trainers.

Home, Planet & Hunters is the latest RPG from Black Pearl Games, the developers who brought us the gritty street action in Brutal Street 1 & 2. With the new game, they’re taking us through the ruins of a world called ‘The Ring’ where you’ll gather a crew of hunters to defend your home.

Take-Two Interactive Software is in an Ohio court this week to fight a lawsuit over the use of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ tattoos in its games. Tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden first sued Take-Two in 2017 over the use of several tattoos he made for James that were reproduced in NBA 2K games from 2016 to 2020.

Alongside the righteousness of spreading managed democracy, if there's one thing Helldivers 2 soldiers go to bat for, it's Eagle-1. Throw in the suggestion that the faceless community favorite might actually be an anime girl, though, and down-bad fans aren't just going to bat – they're standing between the NPC pilot and whatever harm might come their way with more vigor than ever before. 

It's pretty lonely out there as a Helldiver. Sure, you're surrounded by other Helldivers, and superior officers occasionally give you a pat on the back for collecting your samples and killing bots like a good little soldier, but there are very few NPCs in Helldivers 2 that actually have your back when things get tough. That's probably why so many people have fallen for Eagle-1, a disembodied voice that peppers the battlefield with explosions when asked.

A sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is still on the way, says star Simu Liu. The actor took to Threads to respond to a fan about Marvel's lack of news on the sequel. 

EA's upcoming game could let players explore Wakanda in a way no other Marvel game has. Very little has been revealed surrounding the title since its announcement in July 2023 other than the fact it is being developed by a new AAA development studio based in Seattle, Cliffhanger Games, which consists of a team of,,, and veterans.

More than 20 years after the original game changed the way many of us see video games, Square Enix revived Final Fantasy 7 via the first part of its remake. Now the game is bigger than ever before as the second installment in the remake trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, has taken the world by storm. Leaving Midgar and traversing the fictional world beyond, Draculabyte has celebrated Rebirth's success by curating a range of t-shirts that mash-up the game's characters with iconic metal bands.

With the initial wave of datamining over, we've been able to update the new Xal'atath model coming in Patch 10.2.7 complete with spell effects. Behold the Harbinger in her full void-tastic glory! Getting to Know Xal'atath and Alleria Windrunner With the Hunt for the Harbinger questline coming in Patch 10.2.7, Khadgar and Alleria ask for our help in investigating the mysterious Harbinger and her Dark Heart.

Imitated, but never duplicated, Unpacking is a cozy game that tells a surprisingly emotional story through the meditative process of organizing your belongings in different rooms (it’s fun, but don’t just take it from me; it earned the number 13 spot in Polygon’s 2021 game of the year ranking). The game is a wealth of luscious pixel art, lovingly crafted for items ranging from the mundane to the truly distinct, each paired with a unique snippet of satisfying foley audio. Now, thanks to Serenity Forge, many of those same items are available for you to unpack in your own home.

Skybound's Transformers starts a new arc this week with #7. It's another strong issue from one of our favorite ongoing comics, but it also marks a shake-up both in the status quo of the ongoing story and behind the scenes.

America is on a puritanical streak. Politically, individual states and the federal government keep looking for ways to completely outlaw abortion (and birth control, and health care for trans people, and books), while on social media, there’s been one hand-wringing discussion after another about whether movies should ever have sex scenes. The push to get blockbusters in front of a global audience has come with widely noticeablerestrictions on sexual content — or even basic kissing. In modern studio movies, as R.S. Benedict put it, everyone is beautiful and no one is horny.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin was one of the biggest comics of the last few years and a huge hit for IDW. Sequel series The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution started publishing in March and got off to a flying start - IDW has stated that 140,000 copies of the debut issue have been ordered to date, with a second printing on the way. 

Electronic Arts has announced that it will be increasing the cost of its EA Play subscription service next month.

Following the news that EA Motive's team responsible for last year's Dead Space remake would work on the Battlefield franchise going forward (alongside the previously announced Iron Man game), fans of the horror franchise were left wondering whether a Dead Space 2 remake would still happen.

Earlier today, it was claimed that a remake of Dead Space 2 was in development at publisher Electronic Arts, but had been shelved indefinitely due to the original game's poor sales. Reputable industry insider Jeff Grubb claimed that the title was in the "concept" phase, before EA Motive were taken off the project to work on a new Battlefield and Iron Man title.

Electronic Arts' EA Play video game subscription service will soon be increasing in price. A new report reveals that Electronic Arts will be raising the cost of its EA Play service later this summer, with several tiers of the online service becoming pricier for players.

A Pokemon fan with amazing artistic skills has recently designed a new regional variant for Oddish, giving the Plant-type creature new evolutions. Since their introduction in Pokemon Sun and Moon, regional variants have been very popular in Pokemon fan art, and this fan managed to make outstanding artwork using this concept.

We finally know what the Slay the Spire studio has been working on: it's Slay the Spire 2, baby, and oh boy, it looks good.

Wizard of Legend 2, a follow-up to one of my favorite roguelikes of 2018 which is in the works at a new dev collaborating with the original creators, was one of the high points of today's Triple-I indie showcase. We got a fresh look at the sequel's updated 3D art style and co-op, and so far it looks like a solid homage to what made the first game great.

Electronic Arts just raised the price of its EA Play subscription service. The standard EA Play tier increased from $5 per month to $6 per month, while the annual fee rose to $40 from $30. These updated prices also impact premium EA Play Pro subscriptions, which allows access to the publisher’s games as soon as they launch. This tier now costs $17 per month, an increase from $15, and $120 each year, an increase from $100.

Three years ago, after its infamous reveal, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake was indefinitely delayed. Since then, it changed developers and re-entered the concept phase as Ubisoft Montreal took over from the Mumbai and Pune teams.

Electronic Arts' Motive Studio is moving to work on the Battlefield franchise.

Star Wars Outlaws got a new story trailer and a release date earlier today, which is exciting news for any of you wanting yet another slice of a galaxy far, far away. Unfortunately, a lot of that excitement has now been slightly tempered for those who champion video game preservation, as it's been revealed that the game requires an internet connection to install properly, despite being a solely single player experience.

Electronic Arts is adding Motive Studio, the team behind Star Wars: Squadrons and the 2023 remake of Dead Space, to the roster of developers working on the next Battlefield game. Byron Beede, general manager for the Battlefield franchise, and Patrick Klaus, general manager of Motive, announced the formation of a Battlefield-focused team at Motive on Tuesday — an announcement that also signaled the end of seasonal content for Battlefield 2042.

A newly published patent reveals that Electronic Arts is working on a branching battle pass system that would allow players to navigate a non-linear map and choose their desired reward path. Several patents filed by EA have given audiences insights into the company's research and development efforts, and this latest document has once again highlighted EA's focus on battle passes.

In a developer livestream showcasing their upcoming expansion, Bungie made a bevy of announcements for what awaits players in Destiny 2: The Final Shape.

There’s an art to making an ultra-long YouTube video. For one, you have to make sure it’s broken up into digestible, complete chunks so that people can take natural-feeling breaks. Second, you have to use the length to your advantage. These are all things that Quinton Hoover thinks of when he publishes a video for Quinton Reviews, a pop culture video essay channel that’s recently been devoted to recapping a series episode by episode or breaking down years of history for a show.

As we had correctly surmised, the Star Wars Outlaws story trailer also brought the release date announcement. The game is indeed launching sooner than originally thought (Disney had previously hinted at late 2024), being slated for August 30; however, that's also a bit later than some fans were hoping for, as some had even speculated the game could have launched on May the 4th.

Streaming can be an art form in its own right and made all the more enjoyable with the proper tools — though they don't always come cheap. That's why the 26 percent discount currently running on the Razer Stream Controller is so exciting. The sale brings the all-in-one keypad down from $270 to $200 — a return to its record-low price.

It’s often said that art imitates life, and the masterpiece known as Mortal Kombat is no different. From the first game’s realistic digitised graphics and use of actors and martial artists to record the bone-crunching moves, it was obvious that Mortal Kombat creators Ed Boon and John Tobias had been inspired by real-life inspirations for their characters. Some of the influences are obvious, while the others not so much. So, let’s break down the 6 Mortal Kombat characters based on real people.

It's been a little while since the release of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, so attention has naturally turned to the possibility of DLC. We know that the original Marvel's Spider-Man included a few story expansions, introducing the likes of Black Cat and fleshing out characters like Tombstone and Wraith, so the likelihood of getting DLC for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is high.

A Pokemon fan has recently devised a new evolution for Exeggutor, imagining what a more powerful version of the Grass/Psychic-type creature would look like. Pokemon fans often reimagine their favorite monsters and produce amazing Pokemon fan art, and this is among the best pieces to come out recently.

A new Dev Update video from Riot Games shares some of the upcoming content for League of Legends. A team of developers shared an update on the game’s Arena mode, Lee Sin’s upcoming Art and Sustainably visual update, and a new “bullet heaven survivor PvE game mode for League of Legends during this year’s summer event.”

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League hackers have all but confirmed that Deathstroke is going to be coming to the game in the future, as they've managed to make his icon and name pop up on the leaderboards.

Sky: Children of the Light is turning five in a few months and Tokyo is where the party’s at! On July 13th and 14th, thatgamecompany is throwing SkyFest, a special event. It’ll be a community gathering full of adventure and fun. It’ll also mark the first in-person and in-game Assembly event for the game!

Avatar: The Last Airbender – Aang’s Destiny, the latest title from The Op Games, isn’t just a collaborative deck-building game. The way designer Pat Marino tells it, it’s a concerted effort to adapt Aang’s full adventures, from iceberg to Fire Lord, for the table.

Embracer is done with their long-term restructuring.

Blockbuster action comedies are in a bit of a rough spot in modern Hollywood. (Fingers crossed that The Fall Guyrights the ship!) It can seem like the only options these days are quip-filled MCU movies, where the comedy potential is limited by some inevitable impending apocalypse; quip-filled MCU derivatives; or bleak action comedies where the humor is mostly dark and cruel. But there is another way: the way of the Baby Assassins.

Today is April 4, written out in both Europe and the Americas as 4-4-2024. Marvel Studios has a very vested interest in the number 4, since the mega-studio’s biggest and most interesting project on the docket right now is next summer’s Fantastic Four. This is a perfect recipe for a Fake Holiday: 4-4 Day, when the Marvel Studios account tweets out some (very neat) looking art and a link for “celebration.” And while its too early for said festivities to include any footage, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of teases here.

Hellblade director and Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades is no longer at the Microsoft-owned studio.

Final Fantasy 7's lead characters have been turned into action figures of all descriptions, most of them selling out quickly without much controversy surrounding them. Cloud, Tifa, and Aertih's Bring Arts figures were the exception. The collectibles caused a stir when they went on sale in 2022 due to the NFT versions of the figures that came with their Digital Plus editions. Square Enix is now selling the Cloud and Tifa options again following Rebirth's release but has made the wise decision to do so without including any NFTs.

A Pokemon fan has made an incredible wood carving of Tauros, one of the pocket monsters from the original Gen 1 games. While Tauros has been the subject of various Pokemon fan art due to its long history with the franchise, this version carved out of several kinds of wood stood out as a tangible representation of what the creature looks like in the real world.

A Pokemon fan has recently designed a past Paradox form for Sableye, a Dark/Ghost-type creature that first appeared in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Sableye may not be among the most popular creatures in the franchise, but it has a very memorable design and is a pretty good fit for Pokemon fan art.

In a short interview with IGN following his GDC talk on 30 Years of Warcraft, Warcraft General Manager John Hight said that while traditional AI is useful for freeing up creative developers from tedious tasks, Blizzard isn't using generative AI in World of Warcraft. John Hight Discusses AI with IGN The key here is generative AI, which is to say the type of artificial intelligence that use machine learning models to generate brand new data, text, or images, as opposed to traditional AI, which primarily processes, analyzes, or classifies existing data. Whereas relatively new generative AI might be used to create complex characters, art, or dialogue, traditional AI has been used for years in things like algorithms helping NPCs path around obstacles or procedurally generate environments using predefined set pieces and rules. Learn more about the evolution of gaming AI to get a better idea of the differences between these two tools and how they are used.

If Warner Bros. Pictures had successfully intimidated trans filmmaker Vera Drew out of releasing her tiny pop-punk biopic The People’s Joker, it’s possible that it would have disappeared quietly: yet another small, personal indie film hunting for an audience in an oversaturated market. Instead, Vera’s hallucinogenic memoir — an energetic, rawly personal trans coming-out story built around crowdsourced digital animation — became international news.

It wouldn’t be a Fortnite and Avatar collab without players being able to get their hands on some of the latter’s popular elemental bending arts. During the Fortnite x Avatar event, you can get your hands on the Waterbending technique in the form of a brand-new Mythic rarity item. With this power at your disposal, you’re all but certain to have a great time in battle royale showdowns, so let’s take a look at where you can find the Waterbending technique and how it works.

It’s been a long few years for Hollow Knight fans. The Metroidvania’s long-awaited sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was announced five years ago. Since then, we’ve barely heard a peep about it outside of one high-profile trailer in 2022 that claimed it would launch within 12 months. That didn’t happen, and we’ve been in the dark ever since. Maybe it’ll surprise drop this year. Maybe we won’t see it until 2025. All we can do is wait.

How do you follow up something like Dead Cells?

Where Winds Meet, the Wuxia open world action/adventure roleplaying game announced by NetEase at Gamescom 2022, is starting its first Closed Beta Test (CBT) on April 19 for North American players.

A new update coming to adds important customization features with new hairstyles and colors for the Sims. With the help of the modding community, players on PC have been able to achieve pretty realistic game play, but players on consoles have not been able to experience this for themselves, which is why base game updates like these are important.

In Somna, one woman is burning, and another can’t sleep. She sees a demon when she shuts her eyes. He wants to do things for her, to her. It’s Puritan England, and they set women ablaze for thoughts like this. She ought to know — her husband is the one who lights the torch.

Crunchyroll and the official Solo Leveling Instagram account announced that the anime will be getting a second season, after the final episode aired on Saturday. The second season, titled, Solo Leveling – Arise From the Shadow –, is confirmed to stream on Crunchyroll when it airs.

We hope you’re hungry for more Bugsnax, because we’re headed back to Snaktooth Island with a new card game currently being funded through Kickstarter. Based on the adorable, poignant, and occasionally horrifying game from Young Horses, the card game will have players taking on the role of their favorite Grumpuses in an attempt to capture and eat the elusive anthropomorphic appetizers.

The universe of Warhammer 40,000 is filled with brutality, viciousness, and endless war. But while there are plenty of terrible tragedies to mull on, there are still bright points — fantastic spectacles and fraternal bonds. Some fans have started to explore an alternate universe that highlights the more fun and light-hearted dynamics of Warhammer 40,000, while combining them with high fashion. Welcome to the Warp Gala, a red carpet event that takes place in this alternate history.

A talented fan of Destiny 2 has created an adorable work of art that turns The Witness into a cute cat. There have been some great villains in Destiny 2, and The Witness is one of the most notable in the game's history.

Sometimes, I do my nails. Sometimes, I paint my minis. And sometimes, I paint my minis while doing my nails. The disciplines of nail art and painting miniatures have a lot in common. They require patience and a steady hand, and they share many of the same tools and materials.

Welcome to the 2024 edition of Gematsu‘s annual April Fools’ Day games industry jokes and gags roundup, featuring a new Goddess of Victory: NIKKE shooter game, Palworld dating simulation game, a 16-bit edition of Kanon, and more.

Eden's Guardian is an upcoming Metroidvania that immediately had me hooked with its hand-drawn pixel art and teleporting action, but it seems I wasn't alone, as its Kickstarter campaign has been smashing its funding goals.

A Palworld fan has created an adorable original Pal called Mushgloom, showing what it would be like if the game had one more Grass/Dark-type monster. Palworld was released in Early Access with more than 100 Pals divided into nine elements, each with a different design and origin. While Palworld players wait for new Pals, the community has been showing its ingenuity by creating original Pals.

Things haven't been easy for Fullbright, the company that most famously produced Gone Home back in 2013, a slice of indie narrative heaven that won plaudits. After the excellent (but less virally successful) Tacoma in 2017, it's now back with another long-awaited game, Open Roads — except, in fact, the name Fullbright has been scrubbed from the final product after allegations of a toxic workplace culture sprung up a few years ago. The game's instead credited to the 'Open Roads Team'. Delays and slow progress have seen it slip years from its original release window, but the game is here at last: a short and sweet story-driven road trip.

Xbox has released a new dynamic dashboard background in honour of the late Akira Toriyama.

Wizards of the Coast has released a statement confirming that it has suspended Fay Dalton, the artist behind Magic: The Gathering's Trouble in Pairs card from the Murders at Karlov Manor Commander set, while it investigates her alleged plagiarism.

It’s only March and 2024 is already full of bold, big-budget games like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Dragon’s Dogma 2. But one of my favorite games of 2024 isn’t available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or even Nintendo Switch. It’s Mars After Midnight, a game from Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn developer Lucas Pope. The only place you can play it? On the Playdate, Panic’s quirky little 1-bit handheld with a crank.

An inventive Pokemon fan has given Lucario and Gyarados a new type of Mega Evolution called Perma Mega. Mega Evolutions are back in the spotlight following the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. With the return of the popular gimmick scheduled for the next release in the Pokemon franchise, fans are showing their excitement through a series of fan art.

A talented Pokemon fan has recently designed new Ice-type versions of Cacnea and Cacturne. Ever since the release of the first games in the franchise, the Pokemon community has spent a long time creating amazing fan art, and swapping the types of classic creatures is one of the most common ways to produce interesting pieces of artwork.

17 years ago, Akira Toriyama provided art for the cult classic Xbox 360 JRPG Blue Dragon, and after the Dragon Ball creator's death, Microsoft is paying tribute with a piece of dynamic background art for modern Xbox consoles.