That’s why I'm firmly on the side of Burruss and anyone else who wants to treat November 19 like an unofficial holiday. If you worked your ass off to afford the time off and squared things with your family or significant other, then why shouldn’t you take some vacation time to play GTA 6? Its $80 price is far from cheap, but it’s a lot less expensive than an actual vacation. And if it’s something you enjoy, then the investment of time and money is worth it.
It’s not as if the real world hasn’t noticed all of the excitement surrounding the game. Last month, it was reported that the 9th Engineer Battalion in Fort Stewart, Georgia offered soldiers a reenlistment perk (https://www.instagram.com/p/DcIc_PVjQjV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==)--four days off to play GTA 6--if they re-upped their contracts with the army. Thankfully, most of us don’t have to go to the same extreme to set aside some time off.
Grand Theft Auto 6 may or may not be a once-in-a-lifetime game, but it’s anyone’s guess when another installment in the long-running series will arrive. If GTA 7 is a decade or more away, then there’s an even greater incentive to enjoy the one that’s finally on the verge of release. Regardless of how many players take a time out from their lives in November, we can safely predict that the crime rates in Vice City are going to go way up. We’ll see you on the mean streets.
It’s not as if the real world hasn’t noticed all of the excitement surrounding the game. Last month, it was reported that the 9th Engineer Battalion in Fort Stewart, Georgia offered soldiers a reenlistment perk (https://www.instagram.com/p/DcIc_PVjQjV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==)--four days off to play GTA 6--if they re-upped their contracts with the army. Thankfully, most of us don’t have to go to the same extreme to set aside some time off.
Grand Theft Auto 6 may or may not be a once-in-a-lifetime game, but it’s anyone’s guess when another installment in the long-running series will arrive. If GTA 7 is a decade or more away, then there’s an even greater incentive to enjoy the one that’s finally on the verge of release. Regardless of how many players take a time out from their lives in November, we can safely predict that the crime rates in Vice City are going to go way up. We’ll see you on the mean streets.
'I Really Want Game Pass to Work' — After Navigating the Xbox 'Reset,' Double Fine Boss Tim Schafer Is Indie Once Again
https://www.ign.com/articles/i-really-want-game-pass-to-work-after-navigating-the-xbox-reset-double-fine-boss-tim-schafer-is-indie-once-again
After navigating the Xbox "Reset," Double Fine boss Tim Schafer is indie once again. IGN interviewed the developer on what happens next.
https://www.ign.com/articles/i-really-want-game-pass-to-work-after-navigating-the-xbox-reset-double-fine-boss-tim-schafer-is-indie-once-again
After navigating the Xbox "Reset," Double Fine boss Tim Schafer is indie once again. IGN interviewed the developer on what happens next.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Legacy Review
https://www.ign.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-vice-city-the-legacy-review
The original, legendary GTA: Vice City remains an irresistible experience in 2026 thanks to its unrivalled personality and style, and its sonically unmistakable soundtrack.
https://www.ign.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-vice-city-the-legacy-review
The original, legendary GTA: Vice City remains an irresistible experience in 2026 thanks to its unrivalled personality and style, and its sonically unmistakable soundtrack.
Emberville Is a Charming Blend of Stardew Valley and Diablo | IGN Preview
https://www.ign.com/articles/emberville-is-a-charming-blend-of-stardew-valley-and-diablo-ign-preview
What is here is already an impressive start. Between the mastery and class skill trees, loot, and stat points to distribute, Emberville already appeals to my love of ARPGs, while its gathering and crafting systems have the potential to appeal to a whole different crowd too, like my wife, who is a fan of cozier games. That could make Emberville one of those rare games that we can both enjoy together when it releases and serve as an introduction to the genres for both sides. It's hard to say just yet whether Emberville will be something that draws and keeps me close, like a moth to a flame, or if it will fizzle out like a birthday candle in the wind, but this early look at least shows that this ember is glowing pretty bright.
https://www.ign.com/articles/emberville-is-a-charming-blend-of-stardew-valley-and-diablo-ign-preview
What is here is already an impressive start. Between the mastery and class skill trees, loot, and stat points to distribute, Emberville already appeals to my love of ARPGs, while its gathering and crafting systems have the potential to appeal to a whole different crowd too, like my wife, who is a fan of cozier games. That could make Emberville one of those rare games that we can both enjoy together when it releases and serve as an introduction to the genres for both sides. It's hard to say just yet whether Emberville will be something that draws and keeps me close, like a moth to a flame, or if it will fizzle out like a birthday candle in the wind, but this early look at least shows that this ember is glowing pretty bright.
A Whisper of Fall: Jinyiwei Brings Serious Martial-Arts Spectacle to Soulslikes | IGN Preview
https://www.ign.com/articles/a-whisper-of-fall-jinyiwei-brings-serious-martial-arts-spectacle-to-soulslikes-ign-preview
A Whisper of Fall: Jinyiwei does an impressive job of drawing players into its world of martial-arts action, and I appreciated that it really leaned into the vertical exploration. I would have liked to see more open exploration of towns and communities to understand what the larger world of Jinyiwei is about, but the demo I played is a promising start. It does well to capture that experience of being an action hero, and with later stages focusing on battles within crumbling battleships during storms and all-out brawls while wall-running above death-pits, A Whisper of Fall: Jinyiwei has the makings of an action-RPG that can make an impact with its martial arts action-adventure.
https://www.ign.com/articles/a-whisper-of-fall-jinyiwei-brings-serious-martial-arts-spectacle-to-soulslikes-ign-preview
A Whisper of Fall: Jinyiwei does an impressive job of drawing players into its world of martial-arts action, and I appreciated that it really leaned into the vertical exploration. I would have liked to see more open exploration of towns and communities to understand what the larger world of Jinyiwei is about, but the demo I played is a promising start. It does well to capture that experience of being an action hero, and with later stages focusing on battles within crumbling battleships during storms and all-out brawls while wall-running above death-pits, A Whisper of Fall: Jinyiwei has the makings of an action-RPG that can make an impact with its martial arts action-adventure.
PlayStation Ditched Kojima's Physint Due to Missed Deadlines and Budget Concerns, Report Claims
https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-ditched-kojimas-physint-due-to-missed-deadlines-and-budget-concerns-report-claims
Sony's decision to walk away from its deal with the legendary Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima for upcoming PlayStation game Physint was reportedly the result of budget concerns and missed deadlines.
https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-ditched-kojimas-physint-due-to-missed-deadlines-and-budget-concerns-report-claims
Sony's decision to walk away from its deal with the legendary Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima for upcoming PlayStation game Physint was reportedly the result of budget concerns and missed deadlines.
GTA 6 Developer Rockstar Says It Was Forced to Put Privacy Films on Its Buildings After Drones Were Used to Snap Photos Through Office Windows
https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-developer-rockstar-says-it-was-forced-to-put-privacy-films-on-its-buildings-after-drones-were-used-to-snap-photos-through-office-windows
Rockstar Games has released its opening note in the employment tribunal to determine the fate of the 31 GTA 6 developers it fired last year, and in doing so has revealed the extreme lengths it goes to in order to prevent security breaches.
https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-developer-rockstar-says-it-was-forced-to-put-privacy-films-on-its-buildings-after-drones-were-used-to-snap-photos-through-office-windows
Rockstar Games has released its opening note in the employment tribunal to determine the fate of the 31 GTA 6 developers it fired last year, and in doing so has revealed the extreme lengths it goes to in order to prevent security breaches.
Fans Are Reportedly Getting $20 Off Ocarina of Time Preorders With a Hidden Coupon at Walmart
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-remake-walmart-coupon-deal
Walmart shoppers are supposedly using a hidden promo code to knock $20 off The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time preorders, bringing it down from $70 to $50, but it might not work for everyone.
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-remake-walmart-coupon-deal
Walmart shoppers are supposedly using a hidden promo code to knock $20 off The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time preorders, bringing it down from $70 to $50, but it might not work for everyone.
PlayStation’s Future Has Never Looked Bleaker
https://www.ign.com/articles/playstations-future-has-never-looked-bleaker
Cutting ties with Kojima and poor Wolverine reviews are just the latest issues in a difficult generation for PlayStation. The platform's future has never looked bleaker.
https://www.ign.com/articles/playstations-future-has-never-looked-bleaker
Cutting ties with Kojima and poor Wolverine reviews are just the latest issues in a difficult generation for PlayStation. The platform's future has never looked bleaker.
Why Are Fortnite’s Player Numbers Falling So Hard This Season?
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-are-fortnites-player-numbers-falling-so-hard-this-season/
Ever since Fortnite started publicly posting player numbers back in 2023, the doomsayers have come out in full force any time there's a decline in concurrent or average player numbers. We're in exactly one of those situations right now, as player counts for the game's main mode, Battle Royale, have fallen significantly since Chapter 7 Season 4 started on August 14. After the summer season saw a big bump in engagement, thanks to some combination of the sprite-focused gameplay and the nearly entirely new map that Epic dropped at the start of Season 3, player counts have been heading back towards the sort of numbers we saw in Season 1 and 2. In other words: Not great, Bob! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpUWrl3-mc8)
According to fortnite.gg, which collates players numbers from the Fortnite API (https://fortnite.gg/player-count), the average number of players in BR is down 37% in September from August so far. We had the usual big spike of players right at the start of Season 4 in the middle of August, but the falloff has been steady ever since, and the "Fortnite is dead" crowd has emerged once again.
But what's going on, really? Is Fortnite dying, or is this just the usual seasonal ebb and flow of player traffic? It's not an easy question to answer from the outside, even with the data we have. To get a better idea of what's going on, we looked at four potential factors.
School's back
This is one of the more obvious factors we could blame–the kids and college students who had lots of free time to game all day during the summer are now busy with school again. Typically, though, the biggest difference in terms of player numbers when comparing the summer versus. the rest of the year is not that more people are playing, but that they're playing at all hours instead of being concentrated at peak times. For most of the year, there's a big difference in the number of concurrent players between peak hours and the middle of the night, but during the summer, the highs and the lows each day are closer together.
So being back in school doesn't seem to stop people from playing--it just makes them play more in the evening. The data we have for past fall seasons supports this idea, as average numbers largely stayed flat between the summer and fall seasons in 2023, and the averages took a nice jump up for the Marvel-themed Chapter 5 Season 4 in 2024. Player numbers have fallen pretty hard both in Chapter 6 Season 4 and in this year's gaming-focused Chapter 7 Season 4, but it seems like we'll need something other than school schedules to blame for that.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-are-fortnites-player-numbers-falling-so-hard-this-season/
Ever since Fortnite started publicly posting player numbers back in 2023, the doomsayers have come out in full force any time there's a decline in concurrent or average player numbers. We're in exactly one of those situations right now, as player counts for the game's main mode, Battle Royale, have fallen significantly since Chapter 7 Season 4 started on August 14. After the summer season saw a big bump in engagement, thanks to some combination of the sprite-focused gameplay and the nearly entirely new map that Epic dropped at the start of Season 3, player counts have been heading back towards the sort of numbers we saw in Season 1 and 2. In other words: Not great, Bob! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpUWrl3-mc8)
According to fortnite.gg, which collates players numbers from the Fortnite API (https://fortnite.gg/player-count), the average number of players in BR is down 37% in September from August so far. We had the usual big spike of players right at the start of Season 4 in the middle of August, but the falloff has been steady ever since, and the "Fortnite is dead" crowd has emerged once again.
But what's going on, really? Is Fortnite dying, or is this just the usual seasonal ebb and flow of player traffic? It's not an easy question to answer from the outside, even with the data we have. To get a better idea of what's going on, we looked at four potential factors.
School's back
This is one of the more obvious factors we could blame–the kids and college students who had lots of free time to game all day during the summer are now busy with school again. Typically, though, the biggest difference in terms of player numbers when comparing the summer versus. the rest of the year is not that more people are playing, but that they're playing at all hours instead of being concentrated at peak times. For most of the year, there's a big difference in the number of concurrent players between peak hours and the middle of the night, but during the summer, the highs and the lows each day are closer together.
So being back in school doesn't seem to stop people from playing--it just makes them play more in the evening. The data we have for past fall seasons supports this idea, as average numbers largely stayed flat between the summer and fall seasons in 2023, and the averages took a nice jump up for the Marvel-themed Chapter 5 Season 4 in 2024. Player numbers have fallen pretty hard both in Chapter 6 Season 4 and in this year's gaming-focused Chapter 7 Season 4, but it seems like we'll need something other than school schedules to blame for that.
Keeping the sprites
Fortnite introduced sprites as the main gameplay gimmick in Chapter 7 Season 3, and since player engagement was way up, Epic decided to keep them around in Season 4. This is pretty much unheard of in modern Fortnite, where each season introduces some major new tweak to the Battle Royale formula to keep it fresh, before shuffling it out the door for something new when the season ends.
It's not hard to understand the thinking there, however. Fortnite's player counts had been dropping steadily during Chapter 7, to some of the game's lowest numbers ever in Season 2. Then, the sprite-collection gameplay was added for Season 3 alongside a new map, and player numbers went back up. Clearly, the people liked that mechanic, and it was something the powers-that-be could point to as being "something that works."
But there's a reason they basically never keep the same gimmick two seasons in a row–by the end of the season, players are usually over whatever the bit is and ready for something new. That was certainly the case even with sprites as we got to the end of Season 3, but Epic pushed ahead with a new batch of sprites anyway.
Anecdotally, players in my matches rarely seem to engage with the sprite-collecting mechanics in the new season--I rarely hear extractors going off in matches anymore, and my random-fill teammates and I tend to treat the sprites as just another type of loot to find rather than a core mechanic. It wasn't like that at any point during Season 3, even in my overly sweaty matches--folks were grinding those sprites to the very end last season.
Too many gimmicks
Season 4 has a bit of an identity crisis, because it introduced an entirely new season gimmick while also keeping the one from last season. In a normal season of Fortnite, the new map changes, the override consoles--which let players change the rules of the game mid-match--and the new loot would be more than enough to shake things up. But in Season 4 we have all that and a new set of sprites, each with its own new ability.
Having two seasons' worth of gimmicks at the same time has made Season 4 feel harder to comprehend, because it's so unnecessarily busy. With so much going on, it's easy to lose a fight without really understanding what happened or why. It's exactly the kind of situation that overwhelms a lot of players, which then inspires a new generation of Redditors to claim everyone who beats them in a fight is cheating because they're frustrated. And since the sprite-collection gameplay is more appealing to those casual players who are put off by the overly complicated gameplay, Season 4 ends up feeling overstimulating and lacking cohesion.
We saw the same thing happen in the Helldivers-like Chapter 6 Season 4, when the map was filled with alien bugs that made it more difficult to track other players. The numbers fell pretty hard that season, too.
Fortnite introduced sprites as the main gameplay gimmick in Chapter 7 Season 3, and since player engagement was way up, Epic decided to keep them around in Season 4. This is pretty much unheard of in modern Fortnite, where each season introduces some major new tweak to the Battle Royale formula to keep it fresh, before shuffling it out the door for something new when the season ends.
It's not hard to understand the thinking there, however. Fortnite's player counts had been dropping steadily during Chapter 7, to some of the game's lowest numbers ever in Season 2. Then, the sprite-collection gameplay was added for Season 3 alongside a new map, and player numbers went back up. Clearly, the people liked that mechanic, and it was something the powers-that-be could point to as being "something that works."
But there's a reason they basically never keep the same gimmick two seasons in a row–by the end of the season, players are usually over whatever the bit is and ready for something new. That was certainly the case even with sprites as we got to the end of Season 3, but Epic pushed ahead with a new batch of sprites anyway.
Anecdotally, players in my matches rarely seem to engage with the sprite-collecting mechanics in the new season--I rarely hear extractors going off in matches anymore, and my random-fill teammates and I tend to treat the sprites as just another type of loot to find rather than a core mechanic. It wasn't like that at any point during Season 3, even in my overly sweaty matches--folks were grinding those sprites to the very end last season.
Too many gimmicks
Season 4 has a bit of an identity crisis, because it introduced an entirely new season gimmick while also keeping the one from last season. In a normal season of Fortnite, the new map changes, the override consoles--which let players change the rules of the game mid-match--and the new loot would be more than enough to shake things up. But in Season 4 we have all that and a new set of sprites, each with its own new ability.
Having two seasons' worth of gimmicks at the same time has made Season 4 feel harder to comprehend, because it's so unnecessarily busy. With so much going on, it's easy to lose a fight without really understanding what happened or why. It's exactly the kind of situation that overwhelms a lot of players, which then inspires a new generation of Redditors to claim everyone who beats them in a fight is cheating because they're frustrated. And since the sprite-collection gameplay is more appealing to those casual players who are put off by the overly complicated gameplay, Season 4 ends up feeling overstimulating and lacking cohesion.
We saw the same thing happen in the Helldivers-like Chapter 6 Season 4, when the map was filled with alien bugs that made it more difficult to track other players. The numbers fell pretty hard that season, too.
They've been relying too much on engagement farming
In 2026, Fortnite has been trying some new techniques for drumming up engagement, the most notable being the Power Hours the game runs in Battle Royale each weekend, which adds some wacky quirks to gameplay, like big head mode, and makes it easier to find and extract sprites. It's essentially a marketing tactic to coerce people to play at a specific time each Saturday so they can get a nice big spike in the concurrent player count, and drag the average player numbers for the rest of the week upward a little bit.
But that sort of thing is a bald manipulation, a new layer of FOMO on a game that already has too many of them. At some point, this kind of thing can easily change from being a nice bonus to feeling like an obligation, especially if they continue to center these events around sprites, which--again--was last season's gimmick, instead of coming up with new ideas for them. Maybe we've already reached that point--the August 29 and September 5 Power Hours were the only ones to draw under a million players since the beginning of June, when Epic first started doing them.
All this means that the rest of the year will be pivotal for Fortnite. There are several big opportunities for the numbers to recover in the next few months--Fortnitemares in October, the expected mini-season in November, and the start of Chapter 8 in December. The last time Fortnite was able to generate a big, sustained spike in players was in 2023, with the original OG season and the start of Chapter 5. But if Epic wants to pull off that sort of recovery this year, especially with the juggernaut that is GTA 6 looming in November, it'll have to come up with something genuinely special that people actually want to play without having to be coerced into it.
In 2026, Fortnite has been trying some new techniques for drumming up engagement, the most notable being the Power Hours the game runs in Battle Royale each weekend, which adds some wacky quirks to gameplay, like big head mode, and makes it easier to find and extract sprites. It's essentially a marketing tactic to coerce people to play at a specific time each Saturday so they can get a nice big spike in the concurrent player count, and drag the average player numbers for the rest of the week upward a little bit.
But that sort of thing is a bald manipulation, a new layer of FOMO on a game that already has too many of them. At some point, this kind of thing can easily change from being a nice bonus to feeling like an obligation, especially if they continue to center these events around sprites, which--again--was last season's gimmick, instead of coming up with new ideas for them. Maybe we've already reached that point--the August 29 and September 5 Power Hours were the only ones to draw under a million players since the beginning of June, when Epic first started doing them.
All this means that the rest of the year will be pivotal for Fortnite. There are several big opportunities for the numbers to recover in the next few months--Fortnitemares in October, the expected mini-season in November, and the start of Chapter 8 in December. The last time Fortnite was able to generate a big, sustained spike in players was in 2023, with the original OG season and the start of Chapter 5. But if Epic wants to pull off that sort of recovery this year, especially with the juggernaut that is GTA 6 looming in November, it'll have to come up with something genuinely special that people actually want to play without having to be coerced into it.
Polyarc, Dev Behind the Critically Acclaimed Moss Series, Is Shutting Down
https://www.ign.com/articles/polyarc-dev-behind-the-critically-acclaimed-moss-series-is-shutting-down
Polyarc Games, the developer behind the critically acclaimed Moss games, has announced it is shutting down.
https://www.ign.com/articles/polyarc-dev-behind-the-critically-acclaimed-moss-series-is-shutting-down
Polyarc Games, the developer behind the critically acclaimed Moss games, has announced it is shutting down.
Save 45% Off Citizen's Star Wars Themed Eco-Drive Chronograph Men's Watches
https://www.ign.com/articles/citizens-star-wars-eco-drive-chronograph-mens-watch-deals
The Force is strong with these ones.
https://www.ign.com/articles/citizens-star-wars-eco-drive-chronograph-mens-watch-deals
The Force is strong with these ones.
GTA 6 Reviews Plague Real-Life Nudist Resort After Fans Draw Comparisons to Leaks
https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-reviews-plague-real-life-nudist-resort-after-fans-draw-comparisons-to-leaks
GTA 6 fans believe its nudist resort was inspired by a real-life location, and its owners are already being bombarded with problematic reviews.
https://www.ign.com/articles/gta-6-reviews-plague-real-life-nudist-resort-after-fans-draw-comparisons-to-leaks
GTA 6 fans believe its nudist resort was inspired by a real-life location, and its owners are already being bombarded with problematic reviews.
Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Expansion for the Cosmere RPG Is Up for Preorder at Amazon
https://www.ign.com/articles/mistborn-cosmere-rpg-expansion-where-to-buy
https://www.ign.com/articles/mistborn-cosmere-rpg-expansion-where-to-buy
Brandon Sanderson and Brotherwise Games have been hard at work producing Cosmere tabletop games (https://www.ign.com/articles/all-cosmere-tabletop-and-board-games) since 2020. In addition to board games, the first core rulebooks for a full-on Cosmere RPG (https://www.ign.com/games/cosmere-rpg) launched just last year after a very successful crowdfunding campaign. And now in 2026, the highly anticipated Mistborn expansion is up for preorder.The Mistborn Handbook, Campaign Guide, and Welcome to Scadriel guide are available to buy at Amazon with a November 4 release date.The Mistborn Handbook is the main thing you'll need if you want to build characters in either era of Mistborn. You'll also get some general guidance for GMs building out a campaign in the world of Scadriel. Since it is a Mistborn game, there's also a focus on the metallic arts of allomancy and ferochemy you wouldn't get from the Stormlight characters.While the handbook is essential for the basics of the RPG, you'll still need the campaign guide to insert your characters into a realistic setting from the books. You can choose to play a campaign through two different Eras, with consequences that 'echo across the centuries'. Your campaign through Mistborn Era 1 is designed to be played through levels 3-6 while Era 2 is designed for levels 3-9.In addition to these two core guides, you can also pick up the smaller 24-page welcome guide. This book is designed as a visual guide for beginners and new players to get up to speed on what to expect from the world of Scadriel before they start playing. This is ideal for introducing players who maybe haven't read any of Sanderson's Cosmere books (https://www.ign.com/articles/brandson-sanderson-cosmere-books-in-order) yet.What We Said About the Stormlight Archive booksIGN had the chance to check out the Stormlight Archive books when they first came out last year and gave them an 8 out of 10 in our review (https://www.ign.com/articles/cosmere-rpg-review). Here's a quick summary of what we thought:"The Cosmere RPG’s initial offerings on Roshar are a strong first go for this new TTRPG system that offers a focus on flexible character development and stronger narrative mechanics than its peers." - Scott White (https://www.ign.com/person/ProfessorRPG)This Isn't the First Mistborn Tabletop GameThis upcoming expansion to the Cosmere TTRPG isn't Sanderson's first attempt at a Mistborn game. In fact, it's not even the first attempt at a TTRPG for the series. Back in 2012 Crafty Games produced the Mistborn Adventure Game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn_Adventure_Game), which was a tabletop adventure set in Era 1 of Scadriel. There were additional expansions and books released for this game, but it's mostly been forgotten with the release of Brotherwise Games Cosmere RPG.More recently, Brotherwise has also released a Mistborn Deckbuilding game that is actually quite good. We gave it an 8 out of 10 in our review (https://www.ign.com/articles/mistborn-the-deckbuilding-board-game-review), calling it a "refreshing offering among its deckbuilding peers" and an easy recommendation for fans of Mistborn.