I woke up this morning in that weird post–Cyber Monday haze where you assume all the good bargains have packed their bags and vanished. Turns out they have not. Stores are still absolutely lousy with deals. If you're anything like me, you might want to dive back in before the shops realise the discounts should have actually ended days ago. Plenty of stuff worth snagging if you are quick!
In retro news, I'm using an HECU Marine's welding torch to light a 26-candle cake baked for Half-Life: Opposing Force, the gritty expansion that dropped 1999-me into the boots of a Marine caught in the same Black Mesa disaster from a whole new angle. I cannot overstate how cool it was to witness the defecation meet the oscillation from an arguably crazier perspective.
Playing as Adrian Shephard meant engaging familiar Xen horrors (plus new Race X ones and CIA assassins) in unfamiliar ways, teaming with AI squadmates, and wielding oddball weapons that gave the firefights their own flavour. Opposing Force did more than add levels. It proved expansions could be ambitious, story-rich, and mechanically surprising, and, for many of us, it was the moment when Half-Life stopped being a GOTY and started becoming a universe.
Just like I did last holiday season, I'm getting festive with the LEGO section. In Mathew Manor, my sons and I are again racing / rating 2025's batch of LEGO Advent Calendars. Basically, we open the City, Harry Potter, Minecraft, and Star Wars ones daily and compare the mini-prizes for "Awesomeness" and "Actual Xmas-ness". 2024's winner was the Lego Marvel one, but, weirdly, there's no 2025 equivalent. So it's anybody's race this year.
Here are the cheapest prices for the four calendars we're using. Score them yourself or just live vicariously through our unboxings.
Adam Mathew is a passionate connoisseur, a lifelong game critic, and an Aussie deals wrangler who genuinely wants to hook you up with stuff that's worth playing (but also cheap). He plays practically everything, sometimes on YouTube.
Audible's holiday promotion for 2025 is now live. Now through December 16, new and returning Audible subscribers can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus for just $0.99 per month. You will need to be logged into your Amazon Prime membershp to see this promotion. After the three months is up, your subscription will convert to the standard $14.95/mo, so make sure to cancel beforehand if you don't want to continue with the service. You also get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months that you get to keep indefinitely even after your subscription expires.
3 Free Months of Audible Premium Plus
Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. There are two paid membership plans: the lower tier Audible Plus ($7.95/mo) and the higher tier Audible Premium Plus ($14.95/mo). The biggest difference between the two is the size of the audiobook library. Whereas Audible Plus only lets you listen to a selection of about 10,000 audiobooks, the Audible Premium Plus plan gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks.
Premium Plus includes other perks as well. Every month Premium Plus members get to pick one audiobook to keep in their library indefinitely, even after the membership expires. Also, Premium Plus members can get 30% off any additional audiobooks they wish to purchase in addition to exclusive limited-time discounts.
If you were already planning to purchase a couple of audiobooks, then it makes more sense to pay less than $3 to get three audiobooks you get to keep indefinitely and enjoy all the benefits of Audible Premium Plus for three months. This deal only pops up a few times per year, so don't waste your "first-time subscriber" eligibility status on a short 30-day trial.
Catch up the the latest novel releases, audiobook style
Several best-selling new and recent releases are available in an audiobook format and part of Audible's Premium Plus subscription plan. Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest Hunger Games novel, is narrated by Jefferson White, who you may already know from Yellowstone where he played Jimmy Hudstrom. The audiobook has a listening time of about 12 hours and 48 minutes. Stephen King released his Never Flinch crime novel in May 27 and it's also available as a nearly 15-hour long audiobook narrated by veteran Jessie Mueller. If you're a fan of Brandon Sanderson, check out Wind and Truth, book five of the popular The Stormlight Archive series. It was released in December of 2024 and runs an epic 63 hours long.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
When I played Escape From Tarkov for the first time in 2018, I remember being captivated by its obtuse, insanely challenging structure. Like PUBG was to the battle royale genre, this promising prototype of what would go on to be called an extraction shooter had so many unique elements going for it, even if it was sometimes completely broken in its Early Access state. All these years later, now finally hitting 1.0, it’s pretty shocking how much has changed while it simultaneously remains exactly as exasperating as I remember it. The hands-off approach to onboarding that forces newcomers to beat their heads against its unforgiving mechanics for dozens of hours before claiming even a single victory captures the same relentless challenge I’ve always adored, while other frustrations, like its continued bugs, poor technical performance, and inability to address an abundance of cheaters, remains disappointingly worse than ever. After over 120 hours with the 1.0 version, there’s still something utterly compelling about the hyper-realistic combat simulation and never-ending loot treadmill it puts you on, but I can’t help but feel like this progenitor may have been left in the dust of the genre it spawned.
Escape From Tarkov isn’t just the original standalone extraction shooter, but also the one most fanatically adherent to the ruthless principles on which the genre was founded. Not only are you thrown into a deadly hellscape filled with lethal NPCs and merciless human opponents, you’re also given absolutely no guidance in your quest for loot as you fight to survive. Practically none of the progression systems are explained to you, there’s no map for you to look at while out in the field to indicate where you or the extraction points are, and you could easily spend tens of hours studying weapon attachments and ammo types just to understand how the heck to use the tools of death you’ll find on your journey.
In some ways, I really admire how unapologetic Tarkov is – its beautifully exacting game design, and the sense of discovery that takes place across hundreds of lessons learned the hard way can be incredibly rewarding. But then there are times where it’s all just so dang frustrating, like how atrociously the UI and menus are organized, as if they were designed specifically to offend you. Whether or not the payoff of finally feeling comfortable enough to bring your best equipment out and try for a proper extraction is worth it will ultimately depend on a couple things: your tolerance for pain, and your drive to master something designed to really test your expertise of systems Tarkov refuses to teach you.
I find myself somewhere in the middle, sometimes mesmerized by its impenetrable and challenging rough edges, while other times just downright disgusted by janky design decisions. For instance, I really got a kick out of figuring out various armor protection levels and corresponding ammo penetration ratings, even though it oftentimes proved to be a complete maze and came with an extremely harsh learning curve of figuring out why I died instantly in one raid but survived getting shot 20 times in the next. For me, this was unforgiving in all the right ways, and a noted lack of handholding is something I connect with much more than the growing number of games that annoyingly treat you like you’re stupid with ongoing tutorials. On the other hand, memorizing maps over the course of 10 hours apiece was less entertaining, specifically because this meant I frequently spent 20 minutes wandering around in search of an exit or a mission objective that was only described to me in the vaguest of terms. It seems like the community’s solution here is to use online tools to figure this stuff out, so it’s sorta baffling that they wouldn’t just integrate one of those directly.
Even with everything that frustrates me about Tarkov, it'll likely keep me playing for hundreds more hours.
So, with everything that frustrates me about Tarkov, what kept me playing for well over 100 hours, and what will likely keep me playing for hundreds more over the next year? Well, it’s the fact that once you put in the time to dig your way through all the layers of grime and obtuseness, you’ll find a pretty stellar extraction shooter that is quite hard to put down. Combat is an incredibly tense process of listening for rustling footsteps nearby and leaning out from behind cover to take precise shots, where a single bullet is all it could take to end another player’s run or put down a marauding NPC. Running around with your rifle’s flashlight blaring is an invitation for every enemy on the map to head in your direction with the aim of taking the gear from your corpse, and extracting with your loot is almost always accompanied by a deep sigh of relief.
NPC factions, including bosses, add a really interesting element of surprise and randomness to raids, too, where your best-laid plans go sideways when you run into an unexpected badass. They range from a psychopath chasing you around with a giant sledgehammer to a cowardly wimp surrounded by four heavily armed and armored guards. You might also find some other unexpected factions, like robed cultists creeping around in the woods with poisoned daggers, which is exactly as terrifying as it sounds the first time you encounter them. Discovering these things organically and either getting destroyed by or besting especially tough enemies to claim their loot kept me invested in exploring maps even when navigating them was sometimes an enormous pain.
When you’re not raiding, you’ll spend an almost equal amount of time with the tasks any extraction shooter worth its salt will have you doing: managing all that loot back at your hideout and using it to unlock cool stuff. The UI built around those activities is downright bad, and you’ll have to work to figure out some of the unintuitive systems that compose them, but the loot game is just about the best one out there once you do. It puts you on a beautiful treadmill that realistically takes thousands of hours to properly complete. That rewarding sense of forward momentum isn’t always there, as you’ll spend lots of time just grinding for cash by selling everything you find out on raids to vendors and stuffing your pockets with an absolutely obscene amount of nails and screw nuts to craft items you need back at your base. But it’s hard to argue that developer Battlestate Games hasn’t created one of the longest, most consistently enjoyable progression systems out there.
The upgrades in question range from facilities in your hideout that let you do things like restore your damage taken from previous raids faster, store more loot in your stash, or test out your weapons at a firing range, almost all of which are genuinely worth the effort to unlock (though many of those demand a whole helluva lot of resources in order to do so). You’ll also have an absolutely enormous list of story missions and side quests to complete, special items to unlock from vendors by exchanging rare materials, and more. Missions run the gamut of killing a certain amount of enemy combatants or looting specific items while out on raids, to more involved, plot-focused stuff like a side quest where I set up camcorders all over a warehouse to record myself killing people, presumably to then cut into a sick highlights reel. Sure, actually chatting with each of the vendors, who only speak Russian and have little in the way of personalities, is a waste of time that only highlights how not great the story is, but in a game about loot and long-term progression goals, Tarkov absolutely nails that bit, with a truly brilliant, Sisyphean grind.
It takes work to figure out, but the loot game is just about the best one out there once you do.
Although most runs are quite stressful and require you to put all the gear you’re carrying on the line, one nice element of Tarkov is the ability to do “SCAV Runs” where you play as a street rat that uses a random set of borrowed equipment. In these low stakes runs, you have a whole lot to gain from taking out a rival player or geared-up NPC and basically nothing to lose from dying yourself, which provides a great opportunity for a come-up that’s especially helpful after your latest devastating loss. Plus, it puts you on the same team as other SCAVs, and pitting a group of poorly geared plebs against those with better equipment is an entertaining twist on the extraction formula in its own right. I tried to do SCAV runs in between each proper deployment and found them to be a pretty great cooldown option after each sweaty raid.
One of the upsides of bothering to learn each of Tarkov’s 11 maps is that they’re all actually quite diverse and are filled with unique takes on the extraction format. On one map, I fought my way through military bases and bunkers and had to stand my ground while a massive armored train arrived to spirit me and my loot away, while on another I wandered through the woods and the wreckage of a crashed airplane while constantly looking to the horizon for snipers due to a distinct lack of cover. Another level requires keycards to enter and is filled with incredibly good loot, but also has equally formidable foes stalking the halls, while another still is just a massive shopping mall filled with stores waiting to be looted. Learning the ins and outs of these levels can be a bit painful at the outset, especially since some things are quite annoyingly unclear, like how the boundaries of most maps are never explained and lethally enforced. For example, in one level you’ll get sniped by unseen enemies without warning if you walk beyond the ill-defined borders, and in another you’ll get immediately blown to pieces due to the edges of the level being a literal mine field.
Unfortunately, Tarkov’s intentionally punishing design is marred by completely unintentional issues that have made this full launch much harder to enjoy. At least in these first couple of weeks with 1.0, there are still numerous bugs I would’ve hoped to have been cleaned up after so many years in Early Access, like characters getting caught on objects or clipping through walls, desync and rubber-banding that monkeys with hit registration, loot that’s visible but painfully lodged in the environment so it can’t be picked up, and numerous issues with the already ugly-as-sin menus that make navigating them even more frustrating.
Even more alarming is the continued prevalence of cheaters, who continue to plague the PvP servers so they can sell their ill-gotten items back to the people they’ve ripped off via an in-game trading market. It’s all the usual stuff like wallhacks, aimbots, and moving at faster-then-normal speeds, but in a game where all your loot is on the line, not doing a better job to mitigate this kind of stuff is pretty hard to swallow. In fact, it was such an issue in my first 10 hours that I decided to spend the vast majority of my time for this review just focusing on Tarkov’s PvE mode for my sanity’s sake, which removes other players entirely aside from those you bring with you. For a sweaty PvP tryhard like myself, forsaking the competitive mode goes against every instinct I have, but with the exploitable state of the PvP servers as they are, it was definitely the right choice.
This thing looks and performs badly by the standards of the day.
There’s also the matter of just how bad this thing looks and performs by the standards of the day. I remember thinking Tarkov already didn’t look great when I last revisited it a few years ago, and coming back to it again in 2025 has not done it any favors. Objects in the environment are blurry and low res, and (with the exception of the vendors you’ll chat with as you complete quests) human faces look like they were modeled using the monster-generator that is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’s character creator. And although the servers have never exactly been speedy, it’s still pretty shocking that it took me about five minutes of loading every time I wanted to enter into a match, during which time my menu was locked up so I couldn’t even fiddle with my inventory or engage in stash organizing busywork while waiting.
Even if you can look past a lot of the jankiness, which I generally can, you still might be infuriated by the current monetization model. Now, normally cost has no actual impact on the quality of a game’s content, but Tarkov is a bit of an exception in that its uber-premium packages come with straight up pay-to-win perks that are just about as nasty as can be. Over the course of the past two weeks, I progressively purchased all four of Tarkov’s escalating packages in order to try them out firsthand, which range from the standard $50 up to a whopping $250, and each one offers more appallingly game-changing boons than the last.
The benefits granted are incredibly powerful boosts that give you quite an advantage. You can get an exclusive safety pouch that’s up to 50% larger, allowing you to keep more of your valuable items upon death. Certain hideout upgrades that offer huge benefits can be unlocked automatically, like a massive amount of additional storage space that normally costs millions of in-game dollars and rare materials to acquire. Most outrageous of all, though, are the boosts to vendor reputations that would otherwise take dozens upon dozens of hours to earn, which are a pathway to purchasing better gear that gives you a huge leg up on progression. It’s so insane and shameless that I honestly felt bad playing alongside my friends who had the standard edition.
Escape From Tarkov also has a purely PvP mode, called Arena, where you go toe-to-toe with rival players in claustrophobic stages, but I can’t really recommend it. Many of Escape From Tarkov’s interesting combat mechanics, like sparse ammo and the need to heal injuries by using a variety of medical equipment on the affected area, just don’t really work in a purely fast-paced arena FPS. Plus, I only spent a small amount of time playing this mode, but in this time I encountered some of the most toxic ghouls I’ve met online in any game. A typical match involves teammates with slurs for usernames threatening you to perform well in the lobby, before screaming at you and quitting the match after a single round. Some of Escape From Tarkov’s quests will point you toward this mode and playing matches can reward loot that you can bring back to the main game, but even so, I don’t suggest spending time here.
If you're looking for a high-capacity, high-output power bank with a slim footprint, then check out this deal from Baseus. Amazon is currently offering the Baseus Blade 20,000mAh 100W power bank for $39.99 shipped after you apply coupon code "9VN7BGBZ". Normally this deal is reserved for Amazon Prime members, but we've tested this coupon on a non-Prime account and we still get $39.99 as the final price. Unlike most high-capacity power banks that are shaped like a chunky bar, the Baseus Blade is slimmer. It's powerful enough to charge any gaming handheld PC at its fastest rate.
Baseus Blade 20,000mAh 100W Slim Power Bank for $39.99
The Baseus Blade measures only 0.7 inches thick. Most high-capacity power banks are well over 1" in thickness. The Iniu gets away with a thinner body by instead going with a wide body design, which means it's more square shaped andsquare 5" x 5". The form factor allows it to fit perfectly in a laptop bag or backpack sleeve. It still weighs in at about one pound which is comparable to other power banks, so no give or take there.
The wide body allows it to squeeze in four ports: two USB Type-C ports each with 100W of Power Delivery and two USB Type-A ports each with 30W output. Note that the maximum charging output is 100W. That means although all three ports add up to a total of 160W, only a maximum of 100W will be delivered across all three ports if they are used simultaneously.
The 20,000mAh capacity can fully recharge all of your gaming handhelds
This Baseus Blade boasts a generous 20,000mAh, or 74Whr battery capacity. If you factor in 80% power efficiency, here are the approximate number of times you can fully recharge each gaming handheld or iPhone model:
Nintendo Switch 2 (18Whr) about 3.3 times
Nintendo Switch (16Whr) about 3.7 times
Steam Deck (40Whr) about 1.5 times
Asus ROG Ally (40Whr) about 1.5 times
Asus ROG Ally X (80Whr) about 0.7 times
Lenovo Legion Go (50Whr) about 1.2 times
Lenovo Legion Go S (55Whr) about 1 time
Apple iPhone 16 (14Whr) about 4.2 times
Apple iPhone 16 Plus (18Whr) about 3.3 times
The 100W output can fast charge nearly all phones and gaming handhelds
The Baseus Blade has USB Type-C ports that provides up to 100W of power output It will automatically throttle down to whatever maximum rate the plugged-in device accepts. The Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 can only accept a maximum of 18W-30W of power output. The Steam Deck can accept up to 39W. The Asus ROG Ally accepts up to 65W. The Asus ROG Ally X (and the upcoming Xbox Ally X) and Lenovo Legion Go S can actually achieve charging rates up to 100W.
This power bank can be brought onto airplanes
You don't need to worry about being stopped at airports. The 20,000mAh 74Whr capacity is well below TSA's 27,000mAh/100Whr carry-on limit, so you are safely in the clear.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Almost all of the major Cyber Monday sales ended last night. Amazon, Target, and Best Buy all closed the curtains on some of the biggest discounts we saw from the whole Black Friday period. If you missed your chance to get any shopping in, however, Walmart has decided to extend its sale for one more day to catch any stragglers still looking for deals.
Although a lot of the most enticing discounts are now out of stock, Walmart is still offering some of the best deals anywhere online with this extended sale. Most notably, the Switch 2 Bundle is still in stock and on sale. You can also find a lot of LEGO sets on sale that are completely sold out at Amazon.
Walmart Extended Cyber Monday Sale – Stock Tracking
Nintendo Switch 2 Bundle Deal
The best overall deal still live at Walmart is the Switch 2 bundle. Walmart was the first retailer to drop this discount yesterday and is one of the only places you can still get it. Amazon briefly had a restock with the same discount this morning, but it quickly sold out. Walmart does require that you sign in or make an account before you can buy this, but that's relatively easy to do. This is the first and likely only Switch 2 discount we'll be seeing until next Black Friday at the earliest. If you're hoping to snag a Switch 2 before Christmas, don't hesitate on this.
LEGO Deals Still Live at Walmart
The discounts on LEGO sets were incredibly popular this year. A lot of the best LEGO deals didn't actually arrive until actual Black Friday and the most popular deals sold out before Cyber Monday. Walmart still has some really great sets at a discount, including Star Wars and Harry Potter options. The LEGO Chomping Monster Book of Monsters is a personal favorite of mine and Walmart is one of the only places with stock left at this price.
Walmart+ Subscriptions Are Discounted for One More Day
In addition to extended discounts on products, Walmart is also still offering its Cyber Monday Walmart+ deal. You can currently get 12 months of the subscription for only $49 a year, which is a 50% discount. If you're already an annual member, you won't be eligible for this discount. You also forfeit your eligibility for the discount if you choose to use the free trial.
There are quite a few benefits to a subscription, but I'd like to highlight that this is one of the only Cyber Monday streaming deals still available. In addition to free shipping and grocery delivery, Walmart+ will also get you access to either Paramount+ or a Peacock Premium subscription. Here's a quick rundown of all of the the benefits it comes with:
Free Shipping: A Walmart+ membership gets you free shipping for online orders, with no order minimum.
Free Delivery: You also get free delivery from your local Walmart store on lots of items, including groceries. There is a $35 order minimum required for the free delivery.
Free Pharmacy Delivery: Free delivery includes medications from the Walmart pharmacy.
Paramount+ or Peacock Streaming Service: Included in every Walmart+ membership is full access to the streaming service Paramount+ (with ads) or Peacock Premium. You'll be able to initially choose which streaming service you want and then have the option to switch again after 90 days.
Burger King Savings: Members get 25% off Burger King every day, plus a free Whopper with purchase every three months.
Early Access to Sales and Promotions: Walmart+ members get early access to promotions and sales events like the Walmart Black Friday sale.
Returns from Home: With a Walmart+ membership, any returns will be picked up from your house or apartment.
Savings on Fuel: You also get discounts on fuel you buy from a variety of gas stations, including Exxon, Mobil, Sam’s Club, Walmart, and Murphy.
Savings on Auto Repairs: You can get free flat tire repair for your vehicle and free road hazard warranty at nationwide Walmart Auto Care Centers.
Free Online Pet Care: You get free 24/7 pet care with the Pawp app.
Mobile Scan and Go: If you do go into a brick-and-mortar store, you can use your phone to scan and pay for items without having to mess with checkout lines.
The end of the year always means a whole lot of movies and TV shows come to home release. We're talking new movies as well as classics getting the 4K treatment in time for the holiday shopping season. And with all the streaming services raising their prices seemingly every other month, it's a good time to own your favorites on physical media. Whether it's to ensure you can always watch them regardless of what streaming services you subscribe to, or you just enjoy the act of collecting, it's good to know when the newest releases are coming out on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. Below, you'll find a full rundown of release dates and buy links for all the upcoming home releases you're likely to care about.
Biggest New and Upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray Releases
If you want a TL;DR of the biggest upcoming home movie and TV show releases, look no further than the list above. We keep it updated and change out the featured items regularly. Below, you'll find all the notable upcoming release sorted by release date.
Want more release dates? Check out our mega-post of all the biggest video game release dates to see what's coming to consoles and PC this year and beyond.
What's the Difference Between 4K and Blu-ray?
The distinction between 4K and Blu-ray is mostly about resolution. A standard Blu-ray disc will usually offer 1080p resolution whereas a 4K disc will offer 2160p resolution. And while all Blu-ray players will be able to play those 1080p discs, not every machine is equipped for 4K.
Best 4K TVs
If you're looking to buy a new TV that will make your 4K movies shine, you'll definitely want to take a look at our favorites. Our tech editors have selected the best 4K TVs for gaming, which will also work great for movie-watching. And since both the PS5 and Xbox Series X have 4K Blu-ray play-back built in, you'll probably be doing plenty of gaming on them as well.
The LG G5 is currently our top pick for a gaming TV, but the price on those refelcts their quality. Which is to say they're really expensive. If you want a deal on a terrific TV in a more reasonable price range, you might want to consider picking an LG C3, which costs significantly less for the same size TV. Get the one that best fits your needs and your budget.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.
The recently released Apple Watch Series 11 went on sale during Cyber Monday, and fortunately that deal is around for a little while longer. Amazon currently has select models available for $329.00 (the rest are $399). These models are:
You should probably hurry, though. These prices aren't expected to last much longer. This would make a worthwhile upgrade for yourself if you're still rocking an Apple Watch 8 or older, or a great gift idea for any iPhone owner.
The Apple Watch Series 11 is the current generation model. Probably the biggest upgrade is 5G connectivity for the cellular models, although the ones on sale here are GPS only. Other updates include a "2X more scratch resistant" Ion-X glass, brighter display that can go up to 2,000 nits, and 33% longer battery life. Software features include hypertension notifications, sleep score, and an Apple Intelligence powered "Workout Buddy" that motivates you during exercise. The processor is the same S10 chip found in the Apple Watch Series 10. In fact, it's technically the same chip found in the Apple Watch Series 9, but optimized for better performance and efficiency.
Can you use an Apple Watch with Android phones?
Although it's technically possible to use an Apple Watch with an Android phone, we wouldn't recommend it. Apple made it so that a lot of the functionality of the Apple Watch requires a smartphone with an iOS operating system. There are some workarounds to implement some of the features, but for the average person, the hassle isn't worth it. If you're absolutely intent on getting an Apple Watch, then getting an iPhone first would be the best option.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Finding the best gifts for everyone in your life can be tricky. If you're on the hunt for the best gifts for readers, however, it's a little easier. People who love books love receiving book gifts, plain and simple. Where it gets complicated is figuring out what exactly a good gift for the reader in your life looks like.
Top Gifts for Readers in 2025
I'm what you may consider a binge reader. I usually go through about three to five books per month, and if I find a new series I really like, that number will shoot up quickly. All of this reading means I can never have too many books and book accessories and I have a decent idea of what gifts readers will love. Below, I've outlined some of the most enticing book gift ideas I've found for the 2025 holiday seson, including but not limited to the Kindle Paperwhite, bookends, book lights, and of course, a few books.
Collectible Illustrated Editions
What do you get for someone who has already seeminly read everything? My recommendation would be an awesome collectible version of a series they already love. There are quite a few illustrated editons available to choose from. My top choice would be the LoTR books because you can get the Deluxe Illustrated Edition that includes illustrations from Tolkien himself and it comes as a single monster tome. The Harry Potter books would be my second top pick as I have gifted those to various people over the years and own a set myself. You can browse some other popular choices below, and also see our top Lord of the Rings gift ideas and Harry Potter gifts. I've found these are especially good gifts to give to parents who plan on sharing their favorite stories with their kids in a more approachable way.
LEGO Book Nook Sets
LEGO just recently released a three new book nook sets that make for wonderful gifts. The concept of the book nook isn't exactly new, but it's a first for LEGO and they are actually really cool builds. So far there is a Lord of the Rings set, a Harry Potter set, and a Sherlock Holmes set available. Each one offers a glimpse into something iconic from those franchises and is specifically made to sit on your shelf among your books. My personal favorite out of all of these is the Hogwarts Express set because it can function as book nook or really cool set of bookends, but all three of them are wonderful in their own ways.
Cheaper alternatives
If you like the idea of giving a book nook kit as a gift, but don't want to pay LEGO prices, there are some much cheaper alternatives available that are just as cool.
Popular Book Box Sets
With so many books available digitally these days, a lot of folks don't actually own physical editions of their favorite series. Book sets are a great gift for that reason, and many of these box sets also include some sort of art on the binding that make them excellent decor items. My top pick here would be the Game of Thrones books. They are one of the most popular fantasy series available despite everyone still waiting on the final book, Winds of Winter. The Lord of the Rings books are also a great option if you're sticking to fantasy, but there's a box set for just about every major series if you search for it. There's also the Witcher books box set, which is great for anyone who has only played the games or watched the TV series.
A Nice E-Reader
As someone who reads alot, I've found that an e-reader is absolutely essential. Not only is it difficult to carry a large stack of physical books everywhere you go, the convenience of being able to download new titles as soon as you finish reading one. There are even plenty of ways to read books for free online if you don't want to pay for a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
The e-reader I'd personally recommend is the latest Amazon Kindle Paperwhite thanks to the paper-like screen and built-in adjustable backlight. It's a little bit larger than the standard Kindle, so it comes with a bigger screen and faster downloads. You will need to purchase a separate case for the Paperwhite to get the full effect though.
Outside of Amazon's device, there are other tablets that are great for reading as well if you are looking to gift a device that can do more than just display words. Something like an iPad Mini is great if you're looking to read graphic novels as well as books.
A Cool Set of Bookends
A large collection of physical books is a wonderful addition to any home, but a cool set of book ends can really bring it all together (literally). There are a ton of book ends available, but the set I would personally recommend is this pair of Agate bookends. My grandfather used to collect stones like this and hand cut them to bookend his own book collection, so I own a few of these. Because it's a decor item, however, there are a lot of different style choices available.
For a high-end book end option for LOTR fans, there's a waitlist for Gates of Argonath Bookends which costs $80 and can be wishlisted. It just might be worth it though once you see the detail and quality.
Must-Have Book Accessories
Looking for more gift ideas? We've gathered a ton of cool book acessories below. This includes things like bookmarks, reading lights, and other things that can improve the reading experience. If you're more of a digital reader, the remote control page turner is the perfect accessory for reading in bed for peak laziness.
Subscription Services
Digital reading is often a cheaper, clutterless alternative to reading physical books. If you have a Kindle, we recommend getting a Kindle Unlimited membership, and we've broken down the pricing structure here. You can pick from thousands of books, comics, magazines, and more, all accessible with a tap of your finger. I personally have a Kindle Unlimited subscription and have found it to be excellent for reading popular LitRPG books and romantasy without overspending.
Then if you're more of an audiobook listener with limited time to sit down and read, an Audible subcription is for you. Similar to Kindle Unlimited, you'll be able to check out thousands of eBooks and podcasts straight from your preferred smart device. Audible recently released a new full-cast audiobook of Harry Potter that makes it worth atleast giving a try. I actually really enjoyed it. Check out our Audible pricing guide here.
Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. His expertise is spread across a variety of different topics -- from TV series to indie games and popular book series.
We've made it, friends. The last month of the year has arrived, and it's bringing a handful of new PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC games to see us through until the new year. Most (but not all!) of the biggest games of 2025 have already arrived, but a few more are yet to come. This month we get games like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Octopath Traveler 0, and perhaps most importantly, Terminator 2D: No Fate. Read on to see release dates for all the biggest games and expansions coming out this month and beyond. Let's have a look.
If you're the preordering type, you can click the links for the platform of your choice to see the game at Amazon (if available).
Post Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Lenovo continues to dish out great deals on its Legion gaming lineup thanks to some coupon codes that are still live. For example, you can pick up this Legion Tower 7 RTX 5080 gaming PC for just $1,979.99 after you stack two coupon codes: "EXTRAFIVE" and "LENOVOHOLIDEAL". If you're looking for a future-proof system, this PC is powerful enough to set you up for high-fps 4K gaming for years to come.
Lenovo Legion Tower 7 RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $1,980
The Legion Tower 7 is Lenovo's top-end desktop computer, boasting a well-ventilated chassis with a mesh front panel housing six total 120mm fans and a 850W 80Plus Gold power supply. Lenovo uses non-proprietary parts and the chassis offers toolless entry, so it's pretty easy to go in and upgrade the memory and storage capacity yourself.
This particular configuration features an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K processor, GeForce RTX 5080 16GB graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz of RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core CPU with a max turbo frequency of 5.5GHz. It's a great gaming chip and you'll find no (gaming) uplift moving to a Core 9 CPU. It's cooled by a robust 360mm all-in-one liquid cooling system.
The RTX 5080 is the second best Blackwell graphics card, surpassed only by the $2,000 RTX 5090. It's about 5%-10% faster than the previous generation RTX 4080 Super, which is discontinued and no longer available. In games that support DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation exclusive to Blackwell cards, the gap widens. This is an outstanding card for playing even the latest games at 4K resolution with high settings and ray tracing enabled. Read more in our RTX 5080 GPU review.
Why Choose Lenovo?
Lenovo Legion gaming PCs and laptops generally feature better build quality than what you'd find from other prebuilt PCs. For desktop PCs in particular, people like the fact that Lenovo does not use proprietary components in its computer systems, so they're easier to upgrade with off-the-shelf parts. Although we haven't yet reviewed the new 2025 models, we have reviewed last year's Legion 7 desktop and really liked its build quality and performance.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
For TV/gaming enthusiasts on a budget, we live in a remarkable time: A 65" 4K television can be had for as little as $300. Before you get too excited, we’d argue that this Big Box Retailer Special class of TVs is compromised in so many ways that the gaming experience is simply not good enough. At best, you'll be getting a dim TV with poor viewing angles, limited color depth, no high refresh rates, and lackluster pixel response times.
These TVs don't look much different from a mid-range TV pulled straight out of 2016, and they likely won't last anywhere near as long. Can you play games on it? Sure, but based on our testing, we’ve found the true entry point for gaming TVs really starts around $650. That’s where we finally get access to tech that was just barely creeping into very expensive, high-end sets a decade ago. I'm confident enough to say that our winner for the best budget gaming TV, the TCL QM6K, has met and/or exceeded that previous top-end performance.
But first, a bit about our criteria.
All candidates in the budget gaming TV category had to meet three specific requirements:
Full array local dimming
Quantum dot or other enhanced backlight
120Hz + refresh rate with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support
There are a lot of “decent” televisions out there that meet some of these criteria ($300 buys you none), but in 2025, great HDR gaming requires all three. Edge-lit TVs can’t show the stark local contrast that makes HDR content pop, and they suffer from serious blooming, especially off-angle. Standard LED backlights also fall well short of covering the DCI-P3 color space, leaving pictures dull and lifeless. And with modern gaming consoles fully supporting 120Hz “performance” modes with VRR, a fixed 60Hz refresh rate means the gaming experience is tarnished with the tearing and judder associated with typical V-Sync behavior.
We know that $650 seems steep for a budget category, but we’re honestly impressed with TCL’s ability to deliver high-end features – ones that make HDR gaming quite literally a game-changing experience – into a package that only costs $650. TCL isn’t alone, though; Hisense is also incredibly competitive at the entry level, and its U65QF was right up there in contention for the win. Both are great sets (the U65QF is brighter and more colorful), but the QM6K gets the nod because its motion performance – critical for blur-free gaming – is stand-out better.
Speaking of motion performance, LG’s entry-tier B5 OLED, with its perfect response times, is still the superior option for gamers who demand the best, pure gaming experience, but at $1,000 for the 65” version, it represents a serious hike in price, stretching the bounds of our budget category.
TL;DR: These Are the Best Budget Gaming TVs
1. TLCL QM6K
Best Budget Gaming TV
At a budget price point, don't expect to be blown away by the HDR experience from any television, but TCL's QM6K is a very respectable performer: OK brightness, excellent colors, a 144Hz max refresh rate with VRR/AMD FreeSync Pro, coupled with excellent pixel response times makes it a win for PC/console gamers on a budget.
In our review, we were very impressed with the QM6K. That sentiment still stands, making the QM6K our definitive pick for Best Budget Gaming TV. Especially impressive was its ability to handle HDR highlights without significant blooming or haloing, given its limited zone count. Color performance is also excellent, helped by the KSF phosphor in its backlight. For watching movies and playing games, we also found off-angle viewing to be great, with limited loss of contrast and color saturation even well off-center.
TCL also has a knack for finely tuning the response time performance of its HVA panels: The QM6K has excellent response times and presents a smooth and judder-free gaming experience at any framerate thanks to its 144Hz max refresh rate and support for VRR, FreeSync Premium Pro, and ALLM. Two full-speed HDMI 2.1 ports allow simultaneous connections for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, leaving the other HDMI ports available for lower refresh rate devices.
Below $650, though, concessions have to be made. Fullscreen brightness isn’t particularly good; this is not a TV that will “wow” you with bright highlights. This isn’t helped by TCL’s decision to use a glossy screen coating with no real anti-reflective treatment. If your primary viewing environment is brightly lit, the QM6K might not give the pop you’re looking for. We also found the Google TV interface slow and laggy.
Still, TCL has somehow delivered a very respectable performer with the QM6K, making it our budget gaming TV to beat.
2. Hisense U65QF
Second-Best Gaming TV
If only Hisense paid a bit more attention to its response time tuning, the U65QF would be the easy choice for budget gamers. Smeary motion lets down an otherwise brilliant, high refresh rate screen: 1,000 nits at entry level, deep, vibrant colors, and well behaved local dimming with 300 zones make HDR really pop.
Let’s get it out of the way: the U65QF would have taken top spot over the QM6K in our budget recommendation if Hisense spent more time cleaning up and tuning the panel’s pixel response times.
Preliminary results from my upcoming review are done, and the measurements indicate that Hisense has all the necessary ingredients for a great HDR gaming display: I measured 1,000-nit highlights over 25% of the screen, 300 backlight zones from a 30x10 array keep blooming and haloing in check while keeping blacks seriously dark, and its KSF enhanced backlight delivers excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. This means it’s both brighter and more colorful than the TCL.
The two sets are otherwise remarkably similar. Both support 4K 144Hz via two primary HDMI 2.1 ports, have VRR and ALLM for stutter free gaming, and have low input lag in their Game modes. They also share similar weaknesses. Their semi-gloss screens don’t do a great job of reducing reflections in bright rooms, and both share limited viewing angles, inherent to VA LCD technology, although we were impressed with the QM6K’s ability to maintain saturation and contrast off-angle.
TestUFO pursuit shots of the Hisense, though, paint a scary picture for gamers. The long trails behind the aliens are the result of very slow gray-to-gray transitions, often in the 20-30ms range. Hisense, unlike TCL, hasn’t implemented any type of overdrive to speed up some of these transitions, so gaming will look a lot like the TestUFO shot above: smeary. It’s such a shame, too, because Hisense is so close to delivering a real budget winner for gamers.
If you’re a stickler for motion performance like I am, the QM6K is the clear winner for the budget gaming category. TCL’s effort and work tuning their pixel overdrive simply makes it the better gaming display. But if you do more than just game, Hisense’s U65QF offers a better HDR experience for TV and movies – one that’s unmatched at this price point. Just be prepared to tolerate a little blur when gaming.
3. LG B5 OLED
Best Stretch-the-Budget Gaming TV
Budget gamers who demand the best motion performance should really take a look at LG's entry level OLED, the B5. While not particularly impressive in bright rooms, in a dedicated (read: dark) gaming room, the B5 simply offers a far better experience than LCD competitors.
I know, $1,000 is a tough pill to swallow for a supposedly “budget” pick, but in spite of Herculean efforts by major LCD manufacturers, the chasm between the pixel response of LCD and OLED has not been overcome and will likely never be; smudging, smearing, trailing, overshoot, and inverse ghosting are all, to some degree or another, part-in-parcel with LCD tech. Not so with OLED. OLEDs are also immune from the distracting loss of contrast and color off-axis typical of VA LCD panels.
OLED is the alternative for those sensitive to these foibles, and LG’s B5 is the lowest priced entry into large format OLED displays, with the 65” version currently on sale for $1,000. But dropping a grand buys you perfect, square wave response times for sample-and-hold limited clarity in games, no matter the frame rate, with the requisite support for G-SYNC/FreeSync VRR. If you haven’t played a 120fps title on an OLED, I really recommend giving it a try.
It also buys you excellent, punchy HDR highlights north of 800 nits. While this isn’t quite as bright as something like Hisense’s U65QF (1,000+ nits), the B5 has far superior local contrast: 8.3 million pixels, “zones” that can be individually controlled. The Hisense has 300. Even TVs with 10x that zone count still aren’t fully immune from bloom and haloing.
Biggest downside (and this is a big one) is fullscreen brightness, where the B5 is particularly weak: 150 nits. To get an idea of just how dim this is, the image above shows the stark difference in a bright room between 780 nits and 250. If your space looks anything like my living room, the B5 is a no-go if you were planning on doing any gaming during the day. LG’s higher tier C5 and G5 models get substantially brighter if you’re willing to pay a premium, but I just wish the B5 wasn’t given such short shrift.
My intention isn’t to be too harsh on the B5; if you can control the lighting in your space, it really does offer a better gaming experience than the other two budget LCD picks. As a gamer, I’m a “convert to the OLED” team. Samsung’s S90F, our best overall gaming TV, convinced me, and I devote a decent portion of that review to explaining why. Yes, the B5 is more expensive than our budget winner, TCL’s QM6K, but if you’re anything like me, the jump to OLED is more than worth it.
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