Final Fantasy XVI’s long-rumored and all but confirmed PC version has now been made official by the game’s producer, Naoki Yoshida. He told fans on September 2 that they can expect more information on the timing of the port before the end of the year, and revealed that two DLC expansions are also definitely happening. A new, free update for the PlayStation 5 role-playing game capped off the good news.

Buy Final Fantasy XVI for PS5: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

“Allow me to take this opportunity to officially announce that development on a PC version is currently underway,” Yoshida told PAX West attendees by way of a brief video address over the holiday weekend. “I hope to be able to give you more information on both the upcoming DLC and the PC version before the end of the year, so please stay tuned.”

He added that fans have wanted to see “more of Valisthea’s story and spend more time with her inhabitants,” hinting that the DLC packs will focus on fleshing out Final Fantasy XVI’s world. It’s unclear if their content will take place before or after the main campaign, but fans have been hopeful any expansion might delve deeper into the mystery of Leviathan, the only Eikon (summon) that’s hinted at in the game but never makes an actual appearence.

Version 1.10 dropped for free on September 3. It adds customizable costumes for each of the main protagonists as well as a new Onion Sword for Clive to wield. There’s also an extensive list of patch notes, most of which have to do with how arcade mode is scored and fixing a handful of bugs. One nice feature is that you can finally now see the cooldown for each ability from the skill menu.

Final Fantasy XVI’s PC version was originally referenced in the game’s very first trailer before later being removed. Square Enix has repeatedly been asked about the timing for a PC port, with Yoshida even telling fans at one point just to buy a PS5 instead of waiting. He then casually mentioned in an interview earlier this year that development on the PC version would begin after the game released in June.

A sizzle reel uploaded by Sony last year signalled that the game’s console exclusivity would only last six months. This has left Xbox owners hopeful the RPG might come to Xbox Series X/S eventually as well, though Microsoft Gaming CEO said recently at Gamescom that he wasn’t rushing Square Enix. Five years later, Final Fantasy VII Remake still hasn’t been ported to the platform.

Today, Sony announced a new app coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles that’ll offer PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe members access to a bunch of Sony Pictures Entertainment films.

Sony Pictures Core, a rebrand of Sony’s streaming service Bravia Core, will let PlayStation users purchase or rent up to 2,000 Sony films “straight from your console.” The offerings include big-name titles like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Uncharted, Bullet Train, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. You can download the Sony Pictures Core app in the Media section of the PS Store on your console. And depending on your Playstation Plus subscription tier, a select assortment of those may be available to you for free.

According to the PlayStation blog post, PS Plus Premium and Deluxe subscribers will receive the added bonus of an ad-free, curated list of 100 films like Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and Resident Evil Damnation, which will be updated “periodically” to stream as part of your membership. Sony also announced that Sony Pictures Core will have an “early access” window where folks can purchase films like Gran Turismo, the app’s first exclusive movie, before they become available on any other on-demand home video service.

Read More: The Gran Turismo Movie Is Part Cringey Playstation Commercial, Part Endearing Underdog Story
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Toward the end of the blog post, Sony teased “additional benefits” to come for PlayStation Plus members in the future, saying:

We hope you’ll enjoy Sony Pictures Core and all the films that will be accessible through the app. It’s part of our shared goal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring together this curated collection of wonderful films to elevate the PlayStation experience. This is just the beginning, and we plan to evolve the offerings and benefits of Sony Pictures Core over time—including a selection of hit anime content from Crunchyroll. We’re looking forward to more exciting things to come, so stay tuned!

The app is available today. Bravia Core will officially rebrand as Sony Pictures Core next year.

Microsoft’s getting ready for the holiday shopping season with a new Xbox Series S bundle that includes three months of Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost. When you consider how many great games are available on Game Pass and how solid the tinier Xbox Series S is as a console, this new starter bundle might be the best deal in video games in 2023.

On October 12, Microsoft announced the Xbox Series S Starter Bundle via its official news blog. The new bundle--which goes on sale October 31— includes an Xbox Series S console and three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership for $299. This means that it’s the same price as a base Xbox Series S. Microsoft says the three months of Game Pass amount to a $50 value. Once the three months are up, players will have to start paying if they want to keep using the service.

Pre-order the Xbox Series S Starter Bundle: Microsoft

While the Xbox Series S isn’t as powerful as PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, the little console isn’t a slouch either. And considering many people still game on 1080p TVs, the Series S’s lack of native 4K gaming isn’t necessarily that big of a deal. For folks looking to hop into the “next generation of gaming,” this new bundle is a good option. It’s also tempting for people who want a second console to power-up a spare TV in a bedroom or living room.

Keep in mind that the Series S doesn’t include a disc drive, so you’d only be able to play digital versions of games and movies. Oh, and this isn’t the recently announced all-black Series S with more storage, either.

Because the bundle includes Game Pass Ultimate, you don’t just get access to the base Game Pass library and all of Microsoft’s first-party games, but also all the EA Play games included with the subscription, as well as Game Pass’ library of Windows games and the ability to stream some Xbox titles to your phone or other devices.

If you’re looking for some games to play on the Xbox Series S (or X) we keep a continually updated tally of some of our favorites. We also keep tabs on the best Game Pass games and even the best spooky games available on Microsoft’s subscription service. And yes, Game Pass gets you access to Starfield, a game that runs surprisingly well on the small Xbox Series S.

Pre-order the Xbox Series S Starter Bundle: Microsoft

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Psychedelic Alan Wake 2 is just as brooding as the white-sheet Halloween sky. It’s the ideal time of year to play the survival-horror sequel to 2010’s Alan Wake, in which the titular novelist and protagonist seals himself away in a dark purgatory. Now, in Alan Wake 2, Alan can warp reality with his words, which recalls John Carpenter’s 1995 weirdo classic In the Mouth of Madness. I’d say there are few better movies to pair your AW2 playthrough with—especially because Madness is now streaming for free.

The theme here is Writers Gone Wild. Both AW2 and Madness feature a grossly successful male horror writer (Alan Wake and villain Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), respectively) who is just as sullen as he is proud. These men are saturated with genius, their fans and inner monologue inform them, and the earth becomes so heavy with it that reality starts bending to their will. People, innocent and mean ones alike, start falling into Alan’s and Sutter’s hands. And sometimes they die.

The tragedies Alan writes fill him with anguish and a sort of auto cannibalistic introspection. But for Sutter in Carpenter’s batshit movie, death is fucking awesome.

Read More: Alan Wake Creator Says Sequel Is ‘More Intense, More Brutal’

He loves shoveling it onto Madness’ main character, the insurance investigator John (Possession’s Sam Neill, his eyes as wide as ever), who’s tasked with pinpointing his whereabouts and retrieving his manuscript for most of Madness’ runtime. It’s a routine investigation, but it quickly becomes dense with death—that’s what you get from a writer like Alan who enjoys manufacturing fear more than mystery; fear cuts to the chase.

For all its self-serious mania, though, Madness is solidly ridiculous. At least Carpenter—who facilitated legendary, sweaty special effects for The Thing (1982)—does his best to tinge all the movie’s gore with yellowish nausea, but you might find some of it more bizarre than bone-shaking scary. But In the Mouth of Madness’ uniquely nasty silliness will make a lasting impression on you. And you’ll get an even more multidimensional look at Alan Wake 2 than the fourth-wall-axing game gives willingly.

In the Mouth of Madness is streaming for free on YouTube Movies and Tubi.

The new PlayStation 5 “slim” complete with a disc drive and DualSense controller is being bundled at no extra cost with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, according to a new advertisement shared by CoD news site Charlie Intel. The free game comes just a month after Call of Duty officially became part of Xbox.

The redesigned PS5 with a Blu-Ray player is normally $500, while the all-digital version that can be upgraded with a detachable disc drive later is normally $450. Since a new ad shared by Charlie Intel shows the Modern Warfare 3 bundle still only costing $500, it seems like Sony is preparing to celebrate Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by giving away the game for free. The bundles come out November 10, the same day as Modern Warfare 3. Just wait until you see them on store shelves. They’re really small.

Sony has given away new Call of Duty games before in its console bundles. Infinite Warfare was free with a new PS4 in 2016 ($300), and WWII was free in 2017. However, this is the first time Sony is debuting such a big deal alongside the launch of a slim model, and right after the game just became owned by its biggest competitor. While Microsoft and Sony hashed out a deal to keep the franchise on PlayStation moving forward, this will be the last time the PS5 version of the game will come with timed-exclusive bonus content.

The free game will likely help boost PS5 sales this holiday, in which Sony is looking to sell a record-breaking 25 million consoles by the end of March 2024. That target comes even as Sony’s only major first-party game this year is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and even as it begins cutting some staff across various PlayStation studios.

The ad spotted by Charlie Intel notes that the deal is only up for grabs while supplies last, and reminds prospective buyers that the new metal ring vertical stand isn’t included in the bundle. It’s sold separately and will cost $30.