Month: October 2024

Longtime RuneScape fans might have made private servers anyway, but Jagex is finally letting everyone make official community servers.The thing about MMOs, is that no matter what kind it is, eventually some players are going to want to make their own servers. Maybe they just want to make grinding a bit easier, or make certain loot easier to achieve, or maybe they just hate other people, or even like other people so much they want to fully engage in roleplaying with them. The point is, players like options, particularly in something like an MMO which is kind of a life commitment type deal – pick one, and that’s your lot. With RuneScape being over 20 years old, the original version anyway, there have of course been plenty of private servers over its existence, but Jagex has just announced Pr…

Remember Tony Hawk, skateboarder and star of a bunch of video games that served as foundational experiences for you and your mates – assuming you grew up with dreams of competing at the X Games and having Rage Against The Machine play at your medal winning afterparty? Well, he’s just teased plans to commemorate the original Pro Skater’s 25th birthday, apparently with help from Activision.Speaking on Mythical Kitchen, a YouTube cooking show that’s exactly where you’d expect to find video game news (thanks VGC), Hawk was asked what’s next for the Pro Skater franchise with that anniversary coming up on September 29 and revealed that him and Activision are on talking terms again.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings “I wish I could tell you more, but I can …

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Walpurgisnacht Rising (say that three times fast) has a new, but completely unintelligible trailer.Last year, after many years of keeping fans waiting, the first trailer for the next Madoka Magica movie, Walpurgisnacht Rising, finally arrived, and while it looked great, it was definitely just a whole bunch of completely contextless shots that don’t really tell you what the film is about. Beautiful shots, mind you, but it’s clear you’ll have to actually watch the film to understand it. Things have been a bit quiet since then, other than the fact it was delayed from winter 2024 to winter 2025, which is quite a big jump, but what’s a few more months on top of the already years-long wait? Lucky for you, though, a new trailer dropped this week which… d…

In a slightly unusual move, Netflix has picked up the streaming rights for the viral web series The Amazing Digital Circus.You might not have seen it, but with as popular as The Amazing Digital Circus has gotten, you’ve almost definitely at least heard about it, if you haven’t already seen the countless cosplays of its lead clown girl Pomni. The first episode, which launched a year ago next month, has accumulated almost 350 million views, with its second episode releasing back in May racking up over 121 million views. And now, alongside the release of the third episode, comes a bit of an odd announcement: Netflix has picked up the streaming rights for the series.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings Now, understandably, your first concern will be whethe…

Warning: Major Spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion lie ahead.If you’ve played through Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – I’d can defintely reccomend it if you haven’t – and chosen to side with the Idris Elba-portrayed Solomon Reed, there’s one mission in particular that’s probably ended up burned into your brain. It sees you have to run from a giant robat that can pretty much kill you on sight, and as it turns out, one of its major inspirations was Frodo Baggins having just the worst day ever.Yes, that Frodo Baggins, the dude from The Lord of the Rings. Your cybernatically-enhanced super-mercernary, with their guns, katana, and/or mantis blades, was basically playing the part of a pint-sized, but courageous fellow from The Shire. You know what, I see it.To see this conte…

In the view of Bethesda design director Emil Pagliarulo, Starfield, in a lot of ways, is one of best things that the studio’s ever made, even if he acknowledges that it “might not be everyone’s cup of tea”.Yep, with the much-hyped Shattered DLC having now been unleashed, giving everyone the chance travel to Va’ruun’kai for a proper taste of arguably the game’s most interesting – at least in theory – factions – Pagliarulo’s spoken to GamesRadar about Bethesda’s big space baby, and how he views where it’s at as an IP, as well as a part of what the studio’s accomplished.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings After getting in an obligatory joke about making the game having taught him that The Elder Scrolls 6 is a thing that people would quite like, the devel…

VariousThere are so many ways to be a Dungeons & Dragons fan these days. The tabletop RPG mainstay has been synonymous with pen-and-paper adventuring for 50 years now, and 2024 marks a major reworking of its core rulebooks to make the game more approachable. Anyone who’s played even just a couple of sessions knows how easy it can be to covet a friend’s set of custom dice, appreciate the care a Dungeon Master has taken in setting the right ambience for a crafted campaign, or even obsess over their choice of pen and notebook — after all, it’s what you’ll be spending a large chunk of time staring into as you ponder your character’s next heroic action.But what’s amazing is that you can be a huge D&D fan without ever touching a character sheet. D&D and the Forgotten R…

Traveller’s TalesAlice Jovanée (she/her) is a commerce writer, and she has been writing about gaming and tech since 2005. Prior to Polygon, she worked at publications such as The Verge.Regardless of how you feel about the current season of Rings of Power, if you’re looking for another way to satiate your Tolkien love you’ll definitely want to check out the current catalog of free games available to Amazon Prime members. Earlier this month, both Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY Edition, and Lego The Lord of the Rings were made available to Amazon Prime members for free through Sept. 30. However, you can now also pick up Lego The Hobbit for free through Oct. 23. Just head to the corresponding Prime Gaming page and you’ll be presented with a code that you can redeem on GOG.com fo…

Nintendo of AmericaCameron Faulkner (he/him) is Polygon’s commerce editor. He began writing about tech and gaming in 2013, and migrated from The Verge in 2023.One of the best unofficial October Prime Day deals has come early at Woot, where you can get a new Nintendo Switch OLED with either white or neon blue/red Joy-Con for $299.99 ($50 off). It’s not typical for this console to receive any kind of discount, so we’re usually skeptical that there’s something amiss when one pops up, like an iffy warranty, or that it isn’t the U.S. version, which includes a different power adapter. However, there are no strings attached; you’re just getting a great deal.Nintendo Switch OLED$300$35014% off$300Nintendo’s hybrid console still has plenty of staying power, especially with this year�…

PaizoAlice Jovanée (she/her) is a commerce writer, and she has been writing about gaming and tech since 2005. Prior to Polygon, she worked at publications such as The Verge.While everyone is busy poring over their new $49.99 Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook, I’ll be over here, sitting on a fat, figurative (it’s digital) stack of Pathfinder Second Edition content that costs $15 less. Pathfinder is our favorite alternative to D&D, and right now, you can pick up a bundle that features over 50 rulebooks, adventures, and other extra content for just $35 from Humble.Pathfinder Bundle of the Dead$35$35$35 at HumbleIn addition to boasting the basics, like the Beginner Box, Bestiary, and Gamemastery guide, this bundle includes a generous helping of content from the Lost Omens campa…