Elden Ring developer FromSoftware is making the game’s music soundtrack available to stream online in case you want to relive Malenia’s boss fight more than you’ve already replayed it. As announced in a Playstation blog post, you can listen to the 67-track album on Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and more (you can view the whole list of services here).

I, for one, did not even realize that there were 67 different songs in Elden Ring but maybe that was because I’ve been too busy yelling to notice the difference. The post also features an interview with FromSoftware lead sound design and composer Tsukasa Saito, who explains what actually went into making some of the game’s music, which is arguably one of the more underappreciated aspects of the Elden Ring (even if the song lyrics are plain gibberish).

Saito reveals something interesting about the haunting voices you hear in the “Song of Honor,” the track that plays in Redmane Castle as you prepare for your fight against the tiny-horse-riding Radahn. Those voices apparently don’t belong to a group of trained singers; they actually belong to the brass section of the Budapest Film Orchestra (the talented group that performed the soundtrack).

The FromSoftware team made the last-minute decision to swap out professional singers for the orchestra’s tuba, trumpet, and trombone players to get a grittier sound, as they realized Castle Redmane probably isn’t the kind of place where people sit around all day training their vocals (unless, of course, it’s for a war cry). And if you’re interested in putting some faces (and instruments) to the music that rings throughout the Lands Between, there’s even a brief behind-the-scenes video that shows the Budapest Film Orchestra in action.

Nintendo’s next Direct showcase will take place tomorrow, September 13th. The Nintendo Direct will be broadcast at 7AM PT / 10AM ET tomorrow morning and will include “roughly 40 minutes of information mostly focused on Nintendo Switch games launching this winter.”

Forty minutes is plenty of time to detail this year’s Switch releases, but it also leaves room for more details on the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The still-unnamed sequel was originally set for a 2022 release date, but it got delayed to spring 2023 earlier this year. Most of the details about the game are still shrouded in mystery, and tomorrow might be a good time for Nintendo to at least provide us with a name for Link’s next big adventure.

If you’re in the UK, Nintendo won’t be live streaming its Direct on its UK YouTube channel, to respect the national mourning period following Queen Elizabeth II’s death. “As a mark of respect during this period of national mourning, we will not livestream tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct,” says Nintendo UK. “It will be published as a video-on-demand on our YouTube channel at 16:00 (UK time) tomorrow.”

There are also rumors of remasters of some Zelda classics and possibly even a remastered Metroid Prime. Either way, stay tuned to The Verge on September 13th as we cover everything from Nintendo Direct live.

Update, September 12th 10:20AM ET: Article updated with details on Nintendo UK not live streaming the Direct.

After a string of leaks, Ubisoft has officially unveiled the next major Assassin’s Creed game. As expected, it’s called Mirage and will shift the time-traveling series to 9th-century Baghdad, where players will take on the role of a budding assassin named Basim. (Fans might remember that name from an appearance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla; Mirage takes place two decades before that game.)

Notably, Ubisoft says that the game will get back to the action-adventure roots of the series, which means that the RPG mechanics from more recent games will not be present. Mirage is expected to launch sometime in 2023. Also of note: in an inspired bit of casting, Shohreh Aghdashloo will be voicing the role of Basim’s assassination mentor.

But that’s not all for the series, as Ubisoft also made a number of other big announcements regarding the future of the franchise.

Image: Ubisoft

Let’s start with mobile. Ubisoft is developing the first open-world version of Assassin’s Creed for smartphones, currently dubbed “Jade,” which is set in ancient China and will let players customize their own character. You can also parkour across the Great Wall, which seems fun. “Codename Jade” is listed as coming soon. Elsewhere, Ubisoft also says it’s working on an unnamed mobile title for Netflix’s gaming service, though there are no details on that right now. (Netflix and Ubisoft are currently working together on a live-action series based on Assassin’s Creed.)

Image: Ubisoft

As for the future of the mainline series, Ubisoft shared a few details on the games that will come after Mirage. One of these games, codenamed “Red,” is in development at Ubisoft’s Quebec City studio and will be set in feudal-era Japan, while the Montreal team is working on another codenamed “Hexe”; there aren’t many details on that one yet, but it appears to be about witches in some form. While Mirage is largely eschewing the RPG mechanics of games like Odyssey, it appears that both Red and Hexe will retain them.

Elsewhere, the publisher provided a few more details on its Assassin’s Creed “Infinity” project, which appears to be an online hub of sorts that will connect the mainline games along with standalone multiplayer projects. Think of it like the Animus from the games, only you use it to launch video games.

Ubisoft shared a ton of information on the projects, known and never-before-seen, during its Ubisoft Forward event. Here are the highlights.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

Ubisoft showed off new gameplay footage of the latest installment in the Mario + Rabbids franchise. We got a deeper look at the world of Tera Flora where Mario, Peach, Luigi, and their weird-ass Rabbid counterparts work together to bring down a corrupted wiggler train. The gameplay trailer emphasizes synergy and teamwork, in which combining each character’s unique powers unleash devastating attacks. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope launches on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th.

Skull and Bones

The release of Skull and Bones, Ubisoft’s open-world pirate adventure game, is nigh at hand. Ubisoft shared a few more details on the game, highlighting how you’ll become the pirate lord of the Indian Ocean. Gearing up your ship is key to maintaining your dominance of the sea. Choose from a wealth of options to customize your ship’s ammo, armor, and look tailored to whatever play style you fancy. Ubisoft also announced that Skull and Bones would feature cross play at launch, making it easier for you and your friends to form a cabal of pirates to pillage the high seas. Skull and Bones launches on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Stadia, and Luna on November 8th.

Riders Republic

Riders Republic enters its forthcoming fourth season with an update bringing new cosmetics and a new way to shred. (Do kids still say shred? No? Too bad.) BMX bikes are coming with this latest season along with Vans — the accessory necessary to any serious BMX trick rider.

The Division 2

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is still going strong with Ubisoft announcing it’s committing to a fifth year of development for the post-apocalyptic action RPG. Season 10 and 11 will close out 2022 offering quality of life updates and new gameplay modes. Additionally, Ubisoft announced The Division Heartland, a free-to-play standalone adventure set within The Division universe. In the mobile realm of The Division, The Division Resurgence got a brand new trailer introducing The Division’s popular Dark Zone areas into the mobile experience.

Ubisoft

Rainbow Six Mobile

The Division wasn’t the only Tom Clancy universe on display. Ubisoft briefly explored its Rainbow Six mobile title, announcing a closed beta will start on September 12th.

Image: Ubisoft

Netflix

Ubisoft took a moment to talk about its Netflix partnership that’ll bring three Ubisoft titles to mobile exclusively via the streaming platform. Expect the second installment in the Mighty Quest series, and the sequel to Valiant Hearts, in 2023, and an Assassin’s Creed mobile game along with a live-action series. No word on if the AssCreed mobile game in question will be either Codename Jade or Hexe that were announced later in the presentation.

Assassin’s Creed

As AssCreed enters its 15th year of impractically swan diving into bales of hay, Ubisoft ended its presentation celebrating the history of the company’s flagship title. We got several new game announcements as well as news that the final chapter of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is coming soon.

Activision has announced a showcase that it says will reveal the future of the Call of Duty franchise. Dubbed Call of Duty Next, the showcase will take place at 1PM ET on September 15th, broadcast on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

According to the press release, the showcase will focus on the upcoming sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare as well as what it’s calling Warzone 2.0 and the new Warzone mobile experience.

Though it’s the premier jewel in Activision’s crown, Call of Duty has been underperforming lately. Activision Blizzard’s proposal for a $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft revealed Call of Duty: Vanguard badly underperformed and did not meet its Q4 expectations. As a result, according to a report by Bloomberg, next year’s game has been delayed, disrupting Call of Duty’s yearly release schedule for the first time since 2005.

Call of Duty is also at the heart of a public spat between Xbox and PlayStation. As Microsoft is in the process of purchasing Activision Blizzard King, Sony is worried that Call of Duty, a heretofore multiplatform game, could become an Xbox exclusive once the deal goes through. In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that Microsoft wishes to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation for “several more years” beyond its existing contract. In an interview with Game Industry.biz, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan revealed that “several” in reality meant “three,” also calling the deal “inadequate on every level.”

As mommy and daddy fight over custody, it’s unclear if Call of Duty’s existence as a multiplatform game will be discussed at Call of Duty Next. Tune in on September 15th to find out.

The release date for Intel’s new Arc A-series desktop graphics cards is still unknown, but Intel is sharing the specs of its upcoming GPUs. Unfortunately, just like its processors, the naming conventions for the A-series are somewhat confusing. The short version is that there will eventually be four different cards available aimed at different tiers of gaming or creative applications: the A380, A580, A750, and A770.

The entry-level model, the A380, with its 6GB of GDDR6 memory, 2000MHz clock speed, and 8 processing cores, most closely resembles the Nvidia GTX 1660 Super.

The midtier option, the A580, ups the ante considerably, with 24 processing cores, 8GB of VRAM, and a memory clock speed of 1700MHz. On paper, the A580 most closely compares to Nvidia’s RTX 3070.

Intel is also offering a pair of high-end graphics cards, the A750 and A770. The A750 has 8GB of VRAM, 28 processing cores, and a clock speed of 2050MHz. The Radeon RX 6600XT is the closest comparison currently available.

The A770 will be available in configurations with either 8GB or 16GB of VRAM, 32 processing cores, and a clock speed of 2100MHz. The Radeon RX 6900XT is the closest comparison to the 16GB model of this graphics card that you can currently get off store shelves.

Of course, all of these comparisons are based purely on the specs laid out by the respective manufacturers of these graphics cards and aren’t representative of real-world performance.

Image: Intel

While we don’t know the release date for Intel’s new graphics, a series of 48 benchmarks shared by Intel are available to show how they stack up against Nvidia’s RTX 3060. However, without more extensive organic benchmarks or pricing data, it’s difficult to tell how the A-series actually compares to the existing library of graphics cards from Nvidia or AMD.

Roblox rode a wave of pandemic-era growth to a seven-fold value increase, an exploding user base, and a wildly popular Lil Nas X concert with tens of millions of attendees. That success largely all came thanks to Roblox’s core user base of young and highly engaged players.

Now, those kids are getting older, and Roblox is trying to grow up, too. The all-ages, user-generated gaming platform is announcing plans today to add age guidelines to its games and significantly expand its advertising business as it works to court an older demographic, expand its revenue streams, and still support the needs of its millions of young players.

The changes are a major step in how Roblox thinks of its users and how the company approaches advertising. Roblox — and the millions of people creating games for the platform — will soon have a new way to make money and the opportunity to target a slightly older demographic. Roblox’s ability to become a billion-person platform with thousands of creators supporting themselves on it will depend on whether it can translate these new features into growth and profit.

“When we got started out, the majority of the people on our platform were under 13. We’ve crossed a huge threshold now where the majority are over 13,” Roblox CEO David Baszucki told The Verge. “We’re very optimistic that long term, this type of technology is going to support people all around the world and in a wide range of ways of connecting and being together.”

Up until this point, Roblox has perhaps been mostly known for its popularity with children — at one point, the company said over half of US kids under 16 played Roblox. Now, as its user base gets a little older, Roblox is looking for ways to keep them coming back and give advertisers more targeted ways of reaching the 52.2 million daily active users.

At the company’s annual developer conference today, Baszucki announced a slew of sweeping changes to the platform, among them a new immersive ads system that will allow advertisers to reach players in millions of games — or “experiences” as they’re called on Roblox. Until now, creators purchased banner ads using the in-game currency Robux, often resulting in nonsensical meme-like creations made to entice players to visit and play their games. High-profile brands have ventured into Roblox, too, by working with developers to create custom experiences: there’s Gucci Town and Spotify Island and even a virtual Chipotle restaurant, among others.

The new ads system, meanwhile, is a way for brands to advertise across Roblox experiences through interactive billboards, posters, and other surfaces. Working initially with a group of selected companies and developers, the new ad system will allow creators to drop 3D ads into their own experiences — like a billboard in a sports stadium or on top of a cab in a game — and to get a cut of the ad revenue. In addition to ads within user-created experiences, brands will also be able to have “portals” that act like a tunnel between games, taking players to a new branded area in Roblox like a shoe store or a coffee shop. The company will begin testing immersive ads by the end of the year, with a full launch planned for next year.

“In effect, Roblox, where appropriate, will have 3D ad units that act as a massive ad server for all of these brands,” Baszucki says. “We’re very careful with who these brands are initially. But long term, this will move more and more to a self service model for appropriate brands for our platform.”

Image: Roblox

Advertising in the metaverse is as of yet unproven, but brands are already eyeing it as the next place to target potential customers. In-game purchases on platforms like Roblox and Fortnite might offer a sign of the money to be made in the metaverse: Fortnite made $50 million off skins from just one partnership with the NFL, for example, and in Roblox, some players paid thousands for virtual Gucci products. But Roblox “bookings” — the amount players spend on Robux, of which the company gets a cut — missed estimates last quarter. Roblox went public last year following an explosion in popularity during the pandemic, but its stock has fallen, and it’s not yet profitable.

The push to bring more ads to Roblox is coming while there’s scrutiny of how the company handles the advertising already happening on its platform. In a Federal Trade Commission complaint filed earlier this year, watchdog group Truth in Advertising says branded Roblox experiences are poorly identified, making it hard to discern whether a game is sponsored, especially for young kids. With immersive ads, Roblox will move with “extreme conservatism,’’ Baszucki says — brands will only be able to reach players 13 years old and up, and Roblox will disclose when experiences contain ads.

If immersive ads are to be a boon to Roblox’s business, the same promise exists for the developers responsible for making the games. Roblox developers have a handful of ways to make money on the platform: they can create and sell items like clothes for avatars or offer in-game purchases, which players can buy using Robux. In 2020, Roblox introduced premium payouts, which pay game developers based on time spent in the experience they’ve created. Roblox says it paid out $538.3 million to creators in 2021, and over 2.7 million were earning Robux in June. In terms of creator payout for ads, Roblox will “stay very consistent with the way we share revenues with the community today,” Manuel Bronstein, chief product officer, says.

Currently, after app store fees and Roblox taking its own cut, creators are left with around 30 percent of revenue from in-app purchases — significantly lower than on other platforms. Some creators say that despite pouring time into developing games, it was difficult to make a profit, especially for the millions of kid developers who start out doing something they love only to get burnt out trying to make their game successful. The top 1,000th developer is making around $32,000 a year, and the vast majority of developers monetizing on the platform are over 18, according to Roblox.

At launch, the company is thinking about immersive ads as being a product for players ages 13 and up, and it will go hand in hand with new age guidelines on the platform that will designate certain experiences as being suitable for different age groups. To start, games will have three tiers: 13 and up, 9 and up, and all ages, with descriptions of what kind of content each game contains, like violence or blood. Parents will then be able to select which type of game they want their child to see.

“In the movie business, we have G, PG, and PG-13… And I think that’s a good metaphor for where we’re going,” Baszucki says. “There’s no R-rated content on Roblox. We think everything is really reasonable and no different than what we might find on streaming video or other channels like that.”

Children still make up a large portion of Roblox players — just 52 percent of users are over 13 years old, according to Fortune. But Roblox is seeing the fastest growth in players who are in their older teens to early-20s, and Baszucki says the vision of Roblox as a platform for children is changing.

“As we look at the growth in the 17 through 24 [year old group], which is primarily people still socializing and playing, that perception is going away,” Baszucki says. Some events, like certain concerts in Roblox, tend to draw an older crowd. And in the far distant future, there could be Roblox experiences aimed at adults — working in digital spaces, for example, or games more suited for people 17 and up.

Many Roblox users go to the platform to hang out with friends, and the company announced several updates to its avatar and social features at the developer conference. Avatars will be more expressive, with facial expressions like smiling and winking, and soon, Roblox players will be able to chat with each other using avatars, with their camera animating their avatar’s expressions. The company will also begin testing voice chat with filters for players under 13 years old in addition to a 13-plus option with fewer restrictions.

Roblox relies on developers — from hobbyists to full-fledged studios — to build its attractions that bring in players. The company’s $25 million game fund, which gives developers money and support to make the next big Roblox game, will also get an additional $10 million boost, Bronstein announced today.

The addition of immersive ads, age guidelines, and more social features signals that Roblox wants to prove it’s not just for little kids anymore. Its goals to grow — and have “thousands” of developers making enough money to support themselves — depend on expanding its audience beyond the people who made it big in the first place.

“We have a mission statement where we want to connect a billion people with optimism and civility,” Bronstein says. “But for us to reach that amazing goal and that amazing mission, we definitely need to age up, grow internationally, and all those things.”

If you haven’t been able to land Sony’s next-gen console yet, both Sony and Walmart are currently offering up another chance. Sony is once again selling the PlayStation 5 Horizon Forbidden West Bundle for $549.99, while Walmart is selling the same configuration for $549. If you’re not familiar with the package, the apt-titled Horizon Forbidden West Bundle comes with the disc-based PS5 as well as a digital code to download a copy of Guerrilla Games’ excellent Horizon Forbidden West. Best of all, unlike Sony’s recent restock events, you don’t need to enter an online queue to check out at either retailer — just log in with your PlayStation Network ID or Walmart credentials and check out (seriously).

While we obviously can’t guarantee you’ll be able to nab the console today, there are a few things you can do to maximize your chances. First off, remember that when purchasing a PS5 from Sony or Walmart, you’ll need to log in with your PlayStation Network ID or Walmart credentials. It’s wise, then, to have your username and password ready, and keep in mind that you can also only buy one console per account, regardless of which retailer you go with. Thankfully, this time around, you don’t have to wait in a virtual queue to make your purchase, which was once the case at both retailers.

Enjoy your PS5 even more with these accessories and games

To help you pass the time while waiting, why not start preparing for your new PS5 with some fun accessories and games? Here are a few we recommend:

Update September 9th, 1:48PM ET: Adjusted pricing and added details regarding Walmart availability.

Correction September 8th, 3:50PM ET: An earlier version of this article claimed you had to enter a virtual queue in order to purchase the PlayStation 5 Horizon Forbidden West bundle. There is no virtual queue, however, and bundles can be purchased from Sony directly. We regret the error.

Disney just wrapped up its Disney and Marvel Games Showcase at D23, and the event was packed with news and announcements about games from the entertainment company’s many franchises. The show was a lightning-fast deluge of trailers for a wide variety of games, including titles that are out right now, like Disney Dreamlight Valley, and ones that are a bit farther off.

Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest news from the show. And if you want to watch the 23-minute showcase in full, you can catch it on Marvel’s YouTube channel.

Tron Identity is a new visual novel from the maker of Thomas Was Alone

Image: Bithell Games

Disney revealed a new game in the Tron universe, titled Tron Identity. The brief teaser trailer was mostly just a title card, but the game’s Steam page reveals quite a bit more: it’s actually a visual novel mystery game. Tron Identity is set to release in 2023 and will be developed by Bithell Games, the maker of indie titles like Thomas Was Alone.

Black Panther and Captain America will star in a mysterious new title

Image: Skydance

Skydance New Media is working on a game that takes place in the worlds of both Black Panther and Captain America. This teaser trailer was light on details, but according to a Marvel blog post, the game will star: Steve Rogers / Captain America; Azzuri, the WWII-era Black Panther; Gabriel Jones, a US soldier who is also a part of the Howling Commandos; and Nanali, a member of the Wakandan Spy Network. The currently unnamed game will be headed up by Amy Hennig, a former creative director on the Uncharted series who joined Skydance in October.

Disney is partnering with Niantic on a Marvel-themed AR game

Disney and Pokémon Go augmented reality game maker Niantic are working on a new Marvel-themed AR mobile game, Marvel World of Heroes. According to a press release, players will be able to become their own superhero so they can “patrol their neighborhoods to foil crimes, complete Super Hero missions, and thwart interdimensional threats.” I guess that means you might see roving bands of players waving their smartphones in your neighborhood? The game is set to launch next year.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns gets a December release date

Disney showed off a new trailer and a release date for Marvel’s Midnight Suns, the upcoming strategy game from X-COM developer Firaxis Games. Midnight Suns was delayed earlier this year, but the game will now be available on December 2nd, 2022, on PC, Xbox Series X / S, and PS5. Midnight Suns will launch on Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch at a later date.

Card battler Marvel Snap is coming out in October

Disney announced that Marvel Snap, its Hearthstone-like card game for PC and mobile, will be released on October 18th. The game launched in closed beta for Android in May.

Return to Monkey Island will have an in-game scrapbook to catch you up on the other games

Image: Disney

Return to Monkey Island, the next game in the beloved Monkey Island series, will have an in-game scrapbook detailing key moments from the series so far. As someone who’s only ever played the first two Monkey Island titles, I’m really looking forward to thumbing through the scrapbook to catch up on the story before diving into the puzzle adventure. And fortunately, I won’t have long to wait: Return to Monkey Island is launching on PC and Nintendo Switch on September 19th.

If something’s broken with your Steam Deck and you don’t want to try to fix it yourself, Valve now has a new option for you: you can send your handheld gaming PC to one of the company’s new repair centers to get it fixed.

Repairs for anything that’s covered by the Steam Deck’s warranty (which is one year in the US) will be free, Valve says. If your device is out of warranty, the company will offer to fix it up for a cost. If you don’t want to pay that fee, you can decline the repair and ask to have your Steam Deck sent back.

Of course, if you think you can fix your Steam Deck on your own, Valve is totally open to you doing that; the company has teamed up with iFixit to sell nearly every part of the Steam Deck so you can get the parts you need to repair things yourself. (Check out how my colleague Sean Hollister fixed his noisy fan.) But as Valve continues to ramp up its Steam Deck shipments, for those of us who are a little nervous about the prospect of opening up their beloved Steam Deck (me), these new repair centers offer another way to get things fixed.