Cartoonist Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer is widely regarded as one of the best and most influential graphic novel memoirs of the 21st Century. It's also among the most commonly banned books in the US, with the Los Angeles Times labeling it “the most banned book in American schools.” Fittingly, Kobabe is teaming with Oni Press for a new fundraising campaign dubbed "Fight Censorship, Read Comics."

With the Fight Censorship, Read Comics campaign now live on Oni's site, IGN can exclusively debut new images of the exclusive merchandise featured. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:

A portion of the proceeds from Fight Censorship, Read Comics will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) and the Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFTRP). The campaign features 15 different items, including T-shirts, art prints, enamel pins, keychains, and even signed and numbered editions of the Gender Queer hardcover. Preorders are open from now until August 20, with fulfillment slated to begin in September.

“The freedom to read, the freedom to access information, and the freedom to learn are some of the most vital rights in this country,” said Kobabe in a statement. “Removing books from schools and public libraries cuts off people's access to knowledge about the wider world and about their own lives within it. This is especially true when the books being removed are about minority identities, or topics less commonly portrayed in popular culture. A book that might seem pointless to one reader might be life-saving to another. Removing a book because its themes offend one reader is censorship, and must be combated at every turn. Please stand up for the freedom to read and the freedom to write!”

"For nearly a century, comics as an art form have played a critical role in championing the all-American ideals of free speech, equality, and anti-authoritarianism," said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. "Although Maia's work is one of the first and prominent examples of impactful and important work to be singled out by pro-censorship forces, we can guarantee that it will not be the last. It is the responsibility of creative institutions like Oni Press and our fellow publishers to protect the free expression of cartoonists and our medium as a whole, and we are proud to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Florida Freedom to Read Project with our ongoing 'Fight Censorship, Read Comics' initiatives."

To help celebrate Pride Month, check out our recommendations for the best LGBTQ comics to read right now.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

Hello. I’m Simon, and I’ll be reviewing Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for IGN. As you probably know, the response to the original Death Stranding was varied to say the least, so I thought it would be helpful to provide a bit of context regarding my own feelings about the 2019 sci-fi epic before hearing my thoughts on the sequel.

I didn’t review Death Stranding for IGN – that was the job of the excellent Tristan Ogilvie, and you can read his thoughts here. His score of 6.8 isn’t anywhere close to the most negative assessment Death Stranding received at launch, but it’s also far from the glowing praise some others bestowed upon it. As I said, verdicts were varied, and I’m about to add yet another to that mix. Opinions are inherently subjective, especially when it comes to art, so naturally my thoughts on Death Stranding differ from Tristan's, albeit not by too much. This is not a re-review, so you won’t get a different score here, but let me explain what I did and didn’t like about the original.

Let’s start with the story, arguably the most complex and divisive aspect of Death Stranding. It’s the element I enjoyed the most, as I fully embraced its ever-increasing glossary of fresh sci-fi terminology and ended up quite connected to its core cast of characters. I think it's definitely the sort of experience that rewards you the more you put into its world, and while it can prove a little impenetrable during its slower, earlier hours, I really did end up fully invested by its final act. Sam’s connection to Lou, as well as the dynamic between Cliff Unger and Die-Hardman, especially resonated with me. Die-Hardman’s final scene, brilliantly brought to life by Tommie Earl Jenkins, is one of the most affecting performances in a video game that I can remember. That’s not to say that the rest of the cast aren’t also fantastic; I could lay on praise for all of them, ranging from Margaret Qualley’s dual roles to Lea Seydoux’s complicated Fragile. I’m looking forward to seeing new faces join them this time around, in particular Elle Fanning’s enigmatic Tomorrow, and I’m willing to go on the record as saying I don’t trust her at all.

Yes, there’s a huge scale here in its world-ending events and giant oil monsters, but this is the sort of sci-fi and post-apocalypse fiction I really connect with – grand, global stories rooted in deeply personal tales, a la Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival or Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Death Stranding delicately balances moments of wonder, whether they be colossal looming threats or simply walking over the crest of a hill to a dose of Low Roar, with one-on-one conversations that anchor that grandeur in relatable humanity. It’s those very human themes of birth, death, hope, and grief that we can all relate to, and I enjoyed greatly how these shone through, no matter how much alien language was thrown my way over the 40 or so hours its tale takes to tell.

In terms of gameplay, it looks like we’ll be getting more of that MGS-flavour tactical espionage action from Death Stranding 2, if recent hands-on previews are anything to go by. This excites me greatly, because no matter how much I enjoyed the original’s story, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find the act of actually playing Death Stranding a slog at times. In fact, it’s what made me bounce off of it when it first released back in 2019. On my first go around, I got just a handful of hours in before deciding all that walking just wasn’t working for me. Its routine of setting out for a hike, crossing rivers and mountains, before eventually reaching nothing more exciting than a delivery location became tiresome for me very quickly, especially during its laborious (and seemingly never-ending) third chapter.

But I’m very glad I gave it another shot a couple of years ago, this time playing the Director’s Cut to completion, as I found myself having a much more enjoyable time with it. That new version’s addition of deeper combat and new delivery tools, such as the companion bot and catapult, introduced some much-needed variety into the mix. Plus, the fact that many half-built highways, helpful ladders, and convenient bridges already existed in the world thanks to the online Chiral network definitely made the journey a lot smoother than it was at launch. The further I got into the game and the more my collection of tools grew, the more fun I found myself having. I bombed along on a motorcycle and enjoyed setting up zipline systems to dart around with ease. I’m hopeful that many of these more convenient delivery options are available from the get-go in Death Stranding 2.

Travelling across Death Stranding’s world was ultimately rewarding, then, but I still can’t say I ever fully clicked with its combat. Yes, I did have a good laugh chucking blood and piss grenades at a big oily lion, but I largely found its BT encounters a bit of trudge. It meant that I avoided conflict as much as I could – a perfectly valid way to play Death Stranding, but one that did result in me letting out a groan every time it started to rain. I also found myself largely dodging human enemies, too, with their yellow hazmat suits often signifying tedious stealth situations. I’m encouraged, then, that Death Stranding 2 looks to be quite a bit more action-heavy in the way it's expanding your arsenal and enabling you to deal with threats in more dynamic ways. While I’m not asking for Sam to become a super soldier able to take waves of enemies head-on, I am looking forward to wielding a bit more firepower this time around instead of opting to skirt around the edges of combat.

So, the TLDR version is that I really enjoyed the world of Death Stranding and its characters, but didn’t find the moment-to-moment gameplay consistently rewarding. I liked it, just didn’t love it. I am very excited to jump back in with Death Stranding 2, though – from what we’ve seen so far, it does look like the story is packed full of intrigue again, and that we’ll be treated to the sort of spectacle that rarely gets created outside of Kojima’s studio walls. I’m just hoping it has the gameplay to match its cinematic ambitions this time around, and doesn’t make the gaps between its gloriously sculpted cutscenes as much of a chore. I guess we’ll all find out when my review of Death Stranding 2 drops on June 23rd.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Developer Mūn Mūn Games has announced Out Fishing, a seemingly benign first-person fishing simulator. Even its title suggests that it's cozy and chill. And it is...during the day. But when nighttime rolls around in the game, it turns into a horror game. It's in development for PC.

The developers describe it like this: "Explore a calm yet unsettling wilderness. Search for rare fish and scattered remnants of the past. Time is your enemy, but the farther you go, the closer you get to the truth. Fish, sell your catch, upgrade your gear, and build up your camp — a fragile safe zone where the line between memory and hallucination starts to blur."

The dynamic day/night cycle includes unpredictable weather that changes the conditions, including the fish you might catch. You can also upgrade your tools and fishing techniques, up to and including vehicles(!). You'll also need to build and sustain your own camp. Check out the debut trailer at the top of this page to get a good idea of what Out Fishing is all about.

Out Fishing invites you to "reel in the one thing that was never meant to be found." Wishlist it on Steam if you're interested.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

It's easy to get drawn in by the unmistakable chrome and neon look of the Tron movies. It definitely made Tron: Catalyst, a top-down action game set in a different virtual world than those we've seen in the films, catch my eye. But in this case, those aesthetics only carried me so far. It doesn't make any critical system errors, but almost every part of it seems like it could have used a little more compute time.

Catalyst focuses on a determined and likeable courier program, Exo, who gets mixed up in a sweeping conspiracy relating to a potential hard reset of the server she and her fellow digital consciousnesses reside on. This Arq Grid was created by Kevin Flynn, AKA Jeff Bridges from the films, and is currently the stage for an interesting political struggle between the authoritarian organization Core and their free-thinking opponents, Automata. Getting to explore this world held my attention, but a lot about it felt two-dimensional.

Most of the life it has is injected by occasional dialogue scenes with fairly respectable but somewhat inconsistent voice acting, and I’m not sure the cartoon character art hit quite the right tone. It almost reminds me of the animated kids’ shows Disney often does these days to follow up many of their popular, live-action blockbusters. And that doesn't quite fit the gloomy, noir vibes of apocalyptic intrigue. I did like the character designs conceptually, though. Every major player is certainly distinct and imaginative.

The plot is also just alright. At the risk of repeating myself, Catalyst really is the picture of a game that is merely pretty good and rarely ever great, in just about every arena. I was interested in the various factions and sub-factions, but they never got fleshed out enough to matter. I was intrigued by the central mystery and the looming threat of the server ending, but I rarely felt a strong urgency to unravel those threads. The writing at least does what it needs to do to move things, but frequently relies on what feel like deliberate leaps of logic to avoid breaking up the flow of a level.

The best example of this is the Glitch, a condition affecting Exo that allows her to reset the server to an earlier state. This is essentially a way to start the current chapter over from the beginning, but retaining any knowledge you've gained, abilities you've earned, and shortcuts you've unlocked remaining open. It’s a very clever idea, but I feel like this mechanic had a lot more potential than what it ends up being used for.

Most of the time, I simply pressed the reset button when the quest objective told me to, or when I'd goofed up big time by getting too much heat from the Core enforcers. There weren't enough instances in which I felt like I could use it in a clever or dynamic way to open up optional paths or gain an advantage I wouldn't have had simply by following the main quest rigidly. It’s a time loop story without a lot of opportunities to exploit the fact that you know what’s going to happen. Time travel is always tricky to work with, and Tron: Catalyst mostly plays it safe in that regard.

Combat is also, and I'm sorry again for sounding like a broken record, but… it's fine. The controls are very responsive and the animations are kinetic and snappy. It looks cool as hell to dance back and forth through a pack of cyber cops, bouncing the light disc off walls and slashing away with stylish violence. But it started to feel fairly repetitive and never really got my blood pumping or my neurons firing in the way a better action game might because its attempts to keep me on my toes never succeeded at breaking me out of the same basic hack and slash routine.

There's a respectable difficulty curve, introducing new mechanics along the way like the ability to steal an enemy's code to copy their fighting style, or bosses that can only be damaged by parrying one of their attacks first. But too many fights can still be concluded swiftly and with token effort by spamming dodge and melee attacks. Eventually Catalyst introduces a stealth system, but I didn't use it except when I was forced to because it's pretty dull, and fighting through a level the loud way seemed so risk-free that it didn't even offer a meaningful advantage.

The key problem with combat is that it usually doesn't feel necessary to think very tactically to progress on the default difficulty. This is the entire skill tree right here, and it's possible to fill it out completely long before the end of the journey if you're meticulous about looking for secrets like I am, so there aren’t a lot of either/or choices to make. Even stolen enemy abilities that can power up your attacks like this blade module didn't end up feeling all that impactful for me, to the point that I wasn't bothering with them in the majority of fights. To be clear, it's not bad. It's fun enough. But that's all it ever is.

Of course, a Tron game without light cycles would be very odd indeed, so Catalyst gives you one pretty early on that makes it quick and enjoyable to navigate some of its larger areas. Many outdoor zones still ended up being a bit cramped for how fast this thing is, though. And the few instances of light cycle combat or chases highlighted how clunky it can feel in certain circumstances. There's even a light jet you get to pilot later, but this felt even more like a minigame and less like a well-thought-out mechanic.

Maybe the aspect I was most underwhelmed by, though, was the music. At this point, I associate the Tron universe with the likes of Daft Punk and Trent Reznor. And that's a high bar, I'll admit. I doubt any of those guys are available to create bespoke music for a project of this modest scale. But Tron: Catalyst's subdued, understated, overly safe blend of orchestral and electronic never gave me the chills I was looking for, even when I put my nice headphones on and turned the volume way up.

The score often fades into the background because it's too repetitive, and it doesn't vary enough in intensity between stretches of low-key exploration and the biggest plot reveals or action sequences. Sure, it does the job. But if there's one aspect where I would expect a Tron tie-in to go above and beyond, it would be the music. So it was harder to accept “merely acceptable” on that front.

While it might sound like damning with faint praise, I honestly think one of the aspects of Tron: Catalyst that works best is its restrained scope and length. It didn't even take me 12 hours to finish, playing pretty meticulously, and that's just about exactly how much attention I had to give its digital world. It would have been really easy to overstay its welcome, especially with the meager trickle of new mechanics it doles out, so it was definitely a smart decision to not pad this out. Playtime isn't directly correlated with quality, and I respect how much this adventure respected my time.

What’s happening with Batman movies? It sounds like things are moving at a glacial pace for the live-action incarnation of the Caped Crusader, with DC Universe co-chief James Gunn admitting: "Batman's my biggest issue in all of DC right now."

In February, James Gunn and fellow DCU steward Peter Safran confirmed The Brave and the Bold will introduce a new Batman into the DCU, ruling out current Batman actor Robert Pattinson in the process.

At the time, Safran and Gunn said Pattinson would play Batman in director Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, dubbed The Batman Epic Crime Saga, only. Pattinson played Batman in 2022’s The Batman, with The Batman - Part 2 confirmed to be in development.

However, last year The Batman Part 2 was delayed once again, this time to October 1, 2027. If this date stands, it will end up being five years between the world first seeing Robert Pattinson become the Dark Knight and again in its sequel.

And what does this mean for the timing of The Brave and the Bold? Gunn faces the potentially confusing situation of having two actors playing Batman in movies across two different DC universes.

So perhaps it comes as no surprise to hear Gunn explain the challenge he faces with Batman right now. In an interview with Rolling Stone (the same interview in which Gunn touched on the Snyderverse fandom and the decision to ditch subtitles from the Superman and Supergirl movie titles), he once again cast doubt on Pattinson crossing over into the DCU to play Batman in both versions.

“I would never say zero, because you just never know,” he said. “But it’s not likely. It’s not likely at all.”

Amid the speculation about how Gunn will handle Batman, rumors have sprung up that The Batman - Part 2 is canceled. But Gunn denied this, insisting director Matt Reeves is just being “slow.” However, it sounds like the movie is some way off, given there's no script.

“I’ll also say Batman Part 2 is not canceled,” Gunn said. “That’s the other thing I hear all the time — that Batman Part 2 is canceled. It’s not canceled. We don’t have a script. Matt’s slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he’s doing. God, people are mean. Let him do his thing, man.”

So, thoughts turn to The Brave and the Bold, which some have suggested may end up taking The Batman Part 2’s October 2027 slot. As of February, The Brave and the Bold was said to be in “very active development,” and the story was “coming together very nicely.” But is The Flash director Andy Muschietti still directing? Gunn and Safran are developing the script, and will show it to Muschietti "when we have it in a place where we think it's ready to go... and see if it's a fit for him," Safran said earlier this year. "I'm very, very actively involved in that script," Gunn said, also earlier this year.

Speaking now on Batman, Gunn said he’s not actually writing The Brave and the Bold, but is working with an unnamed writer to “get it right.”

“Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally,” he said. “And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right, because he’s incredibly important to DC, as is Wonder Woman.

“So outside of the stuff that I’m doing in the projects that are actively going, our two priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman and our Batman scripts.”

Gunn then discussed in vague terms the kind of Batman he’s going for — or, perhaps it would be better to say the kind of Batman he's trying to avoid.

“Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be ‘Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,’ which he is. But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman.

“But yet he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really. So we’re dealing with that. I think I have a way in, by the way. I think I really know what it’s — I just am dealing with the writer to make sure that we can make it a reality.”

While fans wait for The Brave and the Bold to see Gunn's Batman, Episode 6 of DCU canon kickstarter Creature Commandos showed Batman standing on a rooftop looking down at crime boss Doctor Phosphorus. The image below revealed a mega-stacked Caped Crusader in his iconic costume, but there was little else that could be discerned about Gunn’s take on the superhero.

Donkey Kong Bananza is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17. It’s a big 3D platformer that's possibly made my the team behind Super Mario Odyssey; we'll have to wait until it comes out to know for sure. In any case, it finds our simian hero running, climbing, rolling, and digging through a variety of wide-open environments that look to be almost entirely destructable. It’s available to preorder now (see it at Amazon). Read on for the details.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Yes, the MSRP Is $69.99

While Nintendo is deploying a horrible new $79.99 price point for some Switch 2 games (looking at you, Mario Kart World) and even some upgraded and expanded original Switch games (looking at you, Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land), it’s sticking with $69.99 for Donkey Kong Bananza. That’s $10 more than the standard Nintendo kept for most original Switch games, but I’m glad it’s not $79.99.

What Is Donkey Kong Bananza?

Donkey Kong Bananza is the first new 3D Donkey Kong game since the 1999 N64 platformer Donkey Kong 64. The main gameplay mechanic here seems to be a digging ability that has Donkey Kong pounding and smashing his way down into the ground or through the sides of cliffs. And based on the trailer, there appear to be plenty of secrets and treasure to be found.

While most of the levels do appear to take place underground, you’ll get to play through a variety of environments, including forests, canyons, lagoons, and frozen tundras. True to the series history, there are also side-scrolling and mine cart rail-riding sections. It looks like fun. Check out our Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on preview for more information.

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Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World (say that three times fast) is set to release exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on August 28. It contains the full original Switch game, but with improvements like a faster frame rate and higher resolution. It also comes with a whole new story, called Star-Crossed World, that hasn’t been released anywhere else before. It’s available for preorder now (see it at Amazon). Read on for the details.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World

Upgrade Pack Is Also Available Separately

However, here's some good pricing news for anyone who already owns the original version of the game. Since this version simply comes with the original Switch game, plus the Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack, anyone who already owns the original game for Switch can purchase the upgrade pack separately from the Nintendo eShop for $19.99 and save some money.

What is Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World?

From our Kirby and the Forgotten Land review: “Kirby and the Forgotten Land successfully warps the series’ already fun mix of ability-based combat, platforming, and secret hunting into the third dimension. The post-apocalyptic setting may not be as thematically interesting as Planet Popstar, but it is still lovely and vibrant, with cleverly designed levels that make consistently smart use of Kirby’s abilities. Despite the change in perspective, Forgotten Land maintains most of what I love about classic Kirby games – and if the future means more 3D adventures for our hungry pink hero, I’d be more than happy to swallow them up.”

So this Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game comes with the full original game, complete with improved graphics, plus the Star-Crossed World expansion, which brings a new adventure to the package. Nintendo describes the new content like this: “Kirby must use his amazing abilities, including some all-new Mouthful Modes, to clear a trail through uncharted territory after the world is struck by a powerful meteor.”

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Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on July 24. It comes with everything included in the original party game for Nintendo Switch, plus a new Jamboree TV expansion that’s like a game show hosted by Toad. The game is available for preorder now (see it at Amazon). Let’s dive in and look at more details.

Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV

Yes, It Costs $79.99

Nintendo is using a sliding-scale pricing model for Switch 2 games. While most first-party original Switch games cost $59.99 (with the exception of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which cost $69.99), for Switch 2, Nintendo is cranking the ceiling up to $79.99. Mario Kart World is also $79.99, while other games are $69.99 or even less.

Upgrade Pack Is Also Available Separately

This version of the game comes with the original Switch game, plus the Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack. The upgrade pack boosts the base game to higher definition and faster frame rates, while also adding the Jamboree TV expansion content. If you already own the original game for Switch, you can purchase the upgrade pack separately on the Nintendo eShop and at select other retailers (as a printed download code) and save some money. The upgrade costs $19.99.

What Is Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV?

The big new addition here is the Switch 2-exclusive Jamboree TV expansion, which brings new modes and minigames to the party. It includes a number of minigames that use new input types, only available on Switch 2. There’s audio recognition, along with mouse controls and “more expressive rumble.” It also makes use of the Nintendo Switch 2 camera accessory (sold separately; see it at Target).

The minigames that use the camera accessory are probably the most notable addition here, because it puts the faces of everyone playing into the game. Up to four players can participate using a single camera, to do things like balance digital goombas on your head, hit question blocks with your Joy-Con, and more.

Overall, this is probably one of the bigger expansions coming to a Switch 2 version of an original Switch game. It’s especially appealing to anyone who has people over and enjoys playing party games.

Our Review of the Original Game

It’s worth noting that the original Jamboree on Switch was one of our favorite Mario Party games in a long time. From our 9/10 Super Mario Party Jamboree review:

“Super Mario Party Jamboree is an amazing followup to Mario Party Superstars and easily one of the best games in the series. Not only does it faithfully return to the classic formula established in the Nintendo 64 entries, it confidently improves upon it with a fantastic set of boards that introduce unique and memorable mechanics. It’s also the most flexible Mario Party has ever been, with tons of ways to customize your game, including its brilliant new optional Pro Rules that reduce luck-based elements to a minimum and crank up the strategy for those who want it. The wonderful maps are supported by a great lineup of new and returning minigames and character-specific challenges that steal the show, even if I wish there were just a few more minigames in the rotation. The side offerings may not have much staying power, but when partying with friends and family locally or online, Super Mario Party Jamboree boldly completes the series’ redemption arc as its newest superstar.”

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Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

Nintendo has been working with Japan’s major online marketplaces to tackle misleading Switch 2 listings, with Yahoo Japan Auctions opting to outright ban resales of Nintendo’s next-gen offering. However, despite these measures, there have been a number of different scams in Japan involving second-hand Switch 2 consoles. Resellers sending out empty Switch 2 boxes or even photos of the console instead of the real deal are two scams that have been common enough to attract mainstream Japanese news coverage.

TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) and FNN (Fuji News Network) are among the news broadcasters that have released video segments looking into Switch 2 resales and scam listings, particularly on Mercari Japan. FNN focused on a prevalent con in which resellers send buyers a photo or an empty Switch 2 box instead of the actual console. At first glance, most of these scam listings look like regular Switch 2 console posts. However, tucked away in the description are sentences like “I will send a photo of a Switch 2” or “I will send out a Switch 2 box.” Many scammers are writing long descriptions to increase the chance that people click on “buy” without bothering to read all the details.

TBS news also highlighted “confusing” listings, such as a listing where the header describes an OLED model of the Switch 1, however the photo shows a Switch 2 box, with the small print in the description saying “Switch 2 is not included.”

Both news channels reached out to a lawyer to determine which Switch 2 listings could be considered fraudulent. According to Kunitaka Kasai of Rei Law Office, if the product is described as a Switch 2 console in the listing but the buyer doesn’t receive the described product, then the seller can potentially be charged with fraud.

However, even if the pictures show a Switch 2, it is not considered a fraudulent listing if the description specifies that the actual item the buyer will receive is something different (be it a photo of a Switch 2, an empty box, or a Switch 1).

Due to heavy demand, it is still not possible to walk into a store and buy a Switch 2 in Japan (even Nintendo’s Official Stores are not stocking the console yet). Would-be Switch 2 owners in Japan are left with two choices at the moment: keep entering official Switch 2 lotteries in the hope of getting lucky enough to purchase one, or try buying a resale console from online marketplaces.

However, buyers are cautioned to be wary and check listings thoroughly before they hit the “buy” button. Changes in how the Switch 2’s warranty works is another issue that might make people rethink snapping up a second-hand console.

Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.

Epic times are ahead for Q3 and Q4 for console gamers thanks to Donkey Kong Bonanza on Switch 2 and Borderlands 4 dropping on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Preorders just dropped on Amazon, which are conveniently found below because I'm an absolute legend like that. Speaking of Switch 2, I've included a solid deal on the best-selling TomToc slim carrying case to protect that hefty chunk of change.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

IGN Store only has a stunning Master Sword replica in stock too, complete with its scabbard and a sleek display stand. Unfortunately, you won't be able to destroy anything with it as it's not a real sword, but it's a cracking collectible to have above the fireplace or on your back consistently. Moving onto today's tech deals, I've found a banging deal on one of the best gaming monitors at the moment, Samsung 57"Odyssey Neo G9 and a bag full of Apple Mac and iPad discounts. Let's get into it:

Pokémon Restock Updates

Checking these prices against TCG Player secondary market values, a lot of these products aren't far off the mark. Make no mistake, they're still way off MSRP, but finding Pokémon products on shelves that haven't been marked up past the point of anyone caring is a positive. Still refusing to pay over MSRP for new sets? Well played, I'm proud of you. Here's some single card highlights for you to shuffle through instead. Spoiler, there's plenty of deals to be had.

Destined Rivals Singles Are On The Rise (Again)

It's hard to stick a pin on Destined Rivals single card values right now, and the dips in value seem to match the little bits of stock distributors release to stores. Looking at the tracking charts for each of these cards, we can see mostly plummets from day one, then either upticks or cards for sale that exceed the original value at launch. It's crazy, but we now know how low these cards can go. Sure there's always attempts at market manipulation, but I wouldn't buy any cards on the rise right now.

Journey Together Singles Are Settling In Value

Having keeping an eye on the market since launch, Journey Together singles are now more affordable than ever. Many of these cards have stabilized, with the main chase card - Lillie's Clefairy ex SIR, settling at around $150. If you were planning on getting into Journey Together at some point to collect the illustration rares and SIRs, now is a great time to jump in.

Epic Primastic Evolutions Cards That Aren't Umbreon

There's so many great cards in this set that aren't Umbreon ex SIR, all of which are a damn sight more affordable right now. Because I hate anything popular (Yes, I know I'm a massive fan of the most popular IP on earth), my two favorite cards are Dragapult ex SIR and Roaring Moon ex SIR. The former is now down to a respectable $125, with the latter holding it's value well since launch, floating towards the $200 mark. These prices and below are great deals for these cards, so don't miss out.

Discounted MTG: Aetherdrift Boxes

Magic: The Gathering discounts at a big box store like Amazon? Surely not! Aetherdrift turned the MTG meta on its head introducing vehicles and other unique mechanics. This is a great time to jump into it and rip open some packs, it's deffinately one of the most "out there" twists on the ever popular trading card game.

Where To Buy MTG: Final Fantasy

It's finally here, Magic the Gathering: Final Fantasy is out in the wild. If you got a preorder for MSRP, well played, but many TCG and Final Fantasy fans missed out. Fear not, there's still some options on sealed products available right now, including options from the secondary market with TCG Player which is around the same or lower than the pricing of big box retailers right now.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Switch 2 tomtoc Slim Carrying Case

The Legend of Zelda Master Sword

Borderlands 4 Preorders

Borderlands 4 preorders have finally landed, and the started edition is just under the $70 mark in a suprising move after the comments made by Randy Pitchford. We've had a bit of a behind the scenes look with the beggining of the "Beyond the Borderlands" video dropping on how to make a vault hunter, and it's all looking good.

Narrative Arc Bundle

Apple Mac and iPad Deals

Need an upgrade or a good introduction into the Apple ecosystem? There's plenty of choices here, with the M4 chip powering the MacBook and Mac Mini, it's just a case of thinking about if you'd like a traditional desktop setup or something you can take on the go. iPad A16 is perfect for pretty much anything too, even a bit of Apple Arcade.

Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo G9 Gaming Monitor

Big Discounts On Crucial DDR5 and Storage

Crucial are one of the most dependable brands when it comes to M.2 and portable drives, and is a great option for those wanting the benefits of DDR5 RAM without flashy RGB and it's price tag. Here's some of the best deals in the Crucial price slashing marathon on Amazon right now. I currently use the X10 Pro 4TB for backing up files and folders on my PC and for watching videos on my projector, just a solid piece of kit.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (PS5)

DOOM The Dark Ages Art Print

Power Up Pride Bundle

By the early 1990s, Gotham City was a place at a crossroads — not just on the comics page, but on the silver screen. The runaway success of 1989’s Batman had turned DC Comics’ brooding Dark Knight into a global pop-culture juggernaut. But 1992’s darker, more off-kilter follow-up, Batman Returns, presented a challenge the suits at Warner Bros. couldn’t ignore.

Director Tim Burton’s gothic stylings and psychological undertones gave the films a distinct flavor far removed from traditional superhero fare. But Returns’ darker, more adult themes and its sinister villains — Danny DeVito’s grotesque Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s complex, troubled Catwoman — also alienated parents and retailers alike with its unapologetically weird, adult-oriented tone.

While the sequel did solid business, its earnings still marked a sizable drop from the earlier film, with Burton’s unfiltered approach proving especially divisive. Warner Bros. suddenly found itself wrestling with a dilemma: how to keep their new golden goose of a franchise afloat in a market hungry for spectacle, cross-quadrant appeal, and yes, merchandising galore.

That delicate balancing act would shape the creation of the third film, Batman Forever. As the film celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, let’s take a look at the fascinating cinematic time capsule it has come to be in the years since.

A Gotham City in Transition

With concerned parents threatening boycotts and Happy Meal tie-ins in peril, Warner Bros. decided a tonal course correction was in order. Burton, who had given the franchise its visual signature, was nudged into a producer role (his name still prominent in the opening credits, perhaps as a gesture of reassurance, albeit with minimal input and likely under duress). While Burton had been developing a third installment centered around the Scarecrow, the studio increasingly saw his idiosyncratic sensibilities as misaligned with their evolving goals.

In came Joel Schumacher, a director with a résumé as eclectic as it was stylish, who came in only after first getting assurance from Burton himself that he was okay with stepping aside. From The Lost Boys to Falling Down, Schumacher had proven he could deliver visual pop and thematic heft. His Gotham would be less shadow-drenched nightmare, more neon-drenched fever dream — a city of kinetic color and electric energy.

But this wasn’t just about lighting changes and brighter spandex. It signaled a broader pivot: Batman as brand. Theatrical, toyetic, and teed up for mass consumption. Schumacher, for all the neon and noise, did try to delve a bit deeper under Bruce Wayne’s cowl. However, his hiring marked the moment commerce began to drive the creative engine more visibly than ever before.

Initial scripting duties went to Lee and Janet Scott Batchler, who delivered a draft heavy on psychological texture. Too heavy, as far as the studio was concerned. Enter Akiva Goldsman, who reshaped the narrative into something faster and splashier, cutting down on introspection in favor of momentum. Not quite as campy as the 1960s TV show (that was still two years away), but certainly closer than the Burton films had been.

Even the score got a tonal revamp. Danny Elfman’s haunting, operatic themes (also utilized in the fan-fave Batman: The Animated Series) gave way to Elliot Goldenthal’s wild, brassy compositions — less brooding and more bombastic, in lockstep with Schumacher’s amplified aesthetic. (The theme does grow on you, it’s worth acknowledging.)

Val Kilmer Dons the Cape and Cowl

Casting choices further reflected this tonal recalibration. Michael Keaton, who overcame initial fan skepticism and quickly became beloved as Bruce Wayne and Batman, declined to return. Offered a hefty $15 million paycheck, he still walked away, citing discomfort with the new direction and loyalty to Burton’s vision.

Although a roster of mid-’90s heartthrobs were considered, it was Val Kilmer, fresh off his iconic turn as Doc Holliday in Tombstone, who stepped up, signing on to wear the cape without even reading a script. His take on Bruce Wayne was cooler and more reserved — bordering on sleepy in some scenes — but there’s no doubt he cut a dashing figure in the sculpted rubber suit.

As for the villains, Warner Bros. leaned hard into marquee names, just as they had previously. Recent Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones, who had just worked with Schumacher on The Client, took over from Billy Dee Williams as District Attorney Harvey Dent/Two-Face. (Williams would eventually get his due — in LEGO form, no less — in 2017.)

The Riddler was a more contentious casting journey. Robin Williams passed, Michael Jackson lobbied, but Jim Carrey — riding high from his 1994 Triple Crown of Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber — won out. His manic energy matched the movie’s madcap carnival vibe, though not everyone was thrilled. His performance became the film’s tonal bellwether: delightfully unhinged to some, gratingly over-the-top to others (including, most notably, Tommy Lee Jones).

Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman was brought in as the female lead, psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian, after Rene Russo — considered for the part when Keaton was still in the mix — was infuriatingly deemed too old, at 41, to play the 36-year-old Kilmer’s love interest. Regardless, the smoldering Kidman no doubt brought sex appeal and star power to the project while aligning with the slicker, more commercial direction favored by the studio.

Robin finally made his long-awaited entrance to the franchise as well, with Scent of a Woman’s Chris O’Donnell beating out the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon to play Dick Grayson — reimagined as a rebellious teen (played by a 25-year-old) with an affinity for earrings, motorcycles, and just enough edge to seem cool in the MTV ’90s.

Notably, Michael Gough and Pat Hingle returned as Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, essentially the “Q” and “M” of this series, offering a tenuous thread of continuity to the prior entries and giving Forever just enough connective tissue to avoid being thought of as a hard reboot. (That wouldn’t come until Batman Begins 10 years later.)

A Rave in Comic Book Form

Gotham City itself got a makeover as well, courtesy of production designer Barbara Ling, who jettisoned the expressionist grime of Anton Furst’s earlier work in favor of towering statues, neon lighting, and architectural excess. It wasn’t just stylized, it was maximalist, looking less like a city and more like a rave rendered in comic book form.

The Batsuit was also redesigned with a high-gloss finish and sculpted nipples — a detail that became a lightning rod for criticism but perfectly captured the film’s unapologetic shift toward camp. Even the Batmobile was reimagined, glowing with bio-mechanical flourishes that recalled H.R. Giger. Every production element leaned into what toy marketers call “play value.” From costumes to set pieces, it was all designed with dual functions: cinematic storytelling and shelf appeal.

Behind the scenes, not all was harmonious. Kilmer repeatedly clashed with Schumacher, who got into a shoving match at one point with the actor, and Carrey later recounted Jones telling him, memorably: “I cannot sanction your buffoonery.”

Still, the real battleground emerged in post-production. Warner Bros. pushed for a faster, lighter cut, leading to the removal of numerous scenes, including Bruce’s encounter with a giant bat and more psychological explorations. What remained was a polished, popcorn-friendly version that smoothed out rougher edges in favor of commercial considerations.

Release and Reappraisal

When Batman Forever hit theaters on June 16, 1995, its arrival was trumpeted with all the subtlety of the Bat-Signal, blasting across every TV screen, cereal box, and fast-food wrapper in sight. The marketing machine was in full tilt, and audiences responded in kind. Opening to a then-record $53 million, the film eventually pulled in over $330 million worldwide — handily outpacing Batman Returns and validating Warner Bros.’ gamble (at least in the short term).

Critics were more mixed, however. Some praised its energy and visual dazzle; others bemoaned the tonal whiplash and cartoonish villains. Fans, too, were divided. Younger viewers embraced the spectacle, while longtime Bat-faithful mourned the departure from the character’s darker, more introspective roots.

Batman Forever has undergone something of a reputational rebalancing since it first hit theaters. Initially greeted with open arms by audiences riding high on Bat-mania, it eventually found itself unfairly tethered to the neon excesses of its successor, 1997’s Batman & Robin, and dismissed as part of the franchise’s descent into self-parody. But with time and distance, a reassessment has taken root.

Viewed through a more generous lens, Forever reveals itself as a sincere (if uneven) effort to thread the needle between Tim Burton’s gothic melancholy and the toyetic sensibilities of a blockbuster-hungry studio. It doesn’t always stick the landing, but there’s a genuine ambition beneath the spectacle that makes it more than just a prelude to disaster.

Robert Kirkman and David Finch are easily two of the biggest names in the comic book industry right now. That said, they haven't really worked together yet, unless you count Finch's covers for The Walking Dead Deluxe. That's finally changing thanks to Skinbreaker, a violent new action epic from Skybound and Image Comics.

IGN can exclusively debut the first preview of Skinbreaker #1. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

The creative team on Skinbreaker also includes colorist Annalisa Leoni (Invincible Universe: Battle Beast), and letter Rus Wooton (Transformers). The first issue features covers by Finch, Ryan Ottley, Lorenzo De Felici, Eric Canete, and Tony Moore. Here's Skybound's official summary of the new series:

Enor has led his tribe for many seasons, but his time as Chieftan is coming to an end. He wields the mighty SKINBREAKER, but at his age, he can barely lift it. Will Enor’s reluctant heir, Anok, take over before their world falls to ruin? As a bloody power struggle begins, an even bigger threat lurks in the darkness beyond their village.

"I have wanted to work with David Finch for the entirety of my career,” said Kirkman in a press release. “We’ve gotten close many times over the years, but we wanted our collaboration to be something truly special. Skinbreaker is that series. I feel like this book is a high-water mark for both our careers. An action epic that is unrelentingly brutal but also contains a ton of emotion and heart. It’ll shock you and make you cry.”

For as long as there have been video games, there have also been bad movie tie-ins. And with the exception of the Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye, the ‘90s was arguably the worst decade for turning movie gold into video game slop. Independence Day? Stinker. Cliffhanger? Utter bollocks. Men In Black: The Game? We all needed neuralising after that one.

Despite its smash hit success at the movie box office, 1991’s Terminator 2 wasn’t immune from this curse. It also experienced a less-than-stellar video game treatment, published by Ocean Software on the ZX Spectrum, Amiga, and other platforms, and not one of the many versions was even close to being worthy of the film’s classic status.

“I remember playing the Ocean T2 game from way back,” recalls Mike Tucker, designer and programmer at developer Bitmap Bureau. “I think they went all-out with the blend of game designs in there, including one where you had to rewire the Terminator's arm. And then there's a sliding block puzzle [to reconfigure the Terminator’s face].”

Tucker’s colleague, pixel artist Henk Nieborg, also remembers the Probe Software Terminator game, based on the first film and released for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. “It was just a very simple use of the license,” he says.

“If you look at the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo versions of Terminator 2, [they’re] pretty woeful really,” Tucker concludes.

Disney's long-awaited Pirates of the Caribbean 6 will see the return of some familiar faces, franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed.

Various plans for a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie have been floated ever since the series' fifth entry, Dead Men Tell No Tales, launched back in 2017. But a lukewarm reception to that film and then a series of lengthy legal issues for Captain Jack Sparrow actor Johnny Depp have resulted in the franchise being stuck in the doldrums.

Now, however, plans appear to finally be coalescing around the idea of a fresh Pirates of the Caribbean story featuring a mix of new and returning characters — though which old favourites will return remains to be seen.

Speaking earlier this month on British chat show This Morning, Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom said he was open to returning as blacksmith-turned-rogue hearthrob Will Turner, after sailing off into the sunset with Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann back in 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

A decade later, Bloom and Knightley both made cameo appearances in Dead Men Tell No Tales' brief post-credits scene, setting up a possible full return in the future — though as the years passed, fans have since begun to doubt whether this teaser would ever be picked up on.

"Well, I don't know, I can't say anything at the moment because I really don't know, but there's definitely availability," Bloom said this month (thanks, Game Rant).

"I think they're trying to work out what it would all look like, I personally think it'd be great to get the band back together. That would be great, but there are always different ideas, and so we'll see where it lands."

An array of different concepts for possible future Pirates films has been touted over the years, with reports of Disney exploring all manner of options. These have variously been said to star classic characters, all-new casts, act as a full reboot or offer a spin-off tale made while the series' main storyline was rested.

A key issue has been the status of Johnny Depp, who previously said he had no desire to return as Captain Jack Sparrow after Disney cut ties with the actor during a string of legal issues.

In 2018, Depp lost a libel case he lodged against the UK publisher of The Sun newspaper over an article which characterised him as having been violent towards his former wife Amber Heard. The following year, Depp then successfully sued Heard for defamation over an article written by her in The Washington Post, the publication of which, Depp claimed, had led to Disney refusing to work with him.

But as the years have passed, and Depp has again begun picking up projects elsewhere, Pirates of the Caribbean boss Bruckheimer has since stated he was now keen for Depp to return. Last year, Fortnite hosted a major Pirates of the Caribbean crossover — and it was telling that the series' classic characters of Captain Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, and Captain Barbossa were the ones featured as in-game skins.

Now, speaking to Screen Rant, Bruckheimer has confirmed "some" previous Pirates of the Caribbean actors will indeed be back for the next installment, despite the movie still offering "a new take" on the franchise overall.

When asked whether a new take meant an all-new cast, Bruckheimer replied: "Well, not all new actors. We'll have some back... I’m not going to tell you which ones — you'll have to guess."

Will that include Depp? For now, Disney's not saying — and, as yet, Pirates of the Caribbean 6 still currently lacks any kind of formal announcement or release date.

Photo credit: TERTIUS PICKARD/AFP via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive is "currently exploring a wide range of future improvements."

In a social media post shared on the game's channels, the team said these improvements — "from accessibility features to new content and all sorts of bits and bobs we're actively assessing" — will also include expanded localization options (thanks, Eurogamer).

"While we don't have specific timelines or confirmed languages to share just yet," the team added, "we wanted to let you know that it's very much on our radar. Wheee!"

Suggestions from fans on what these improvements could be include a request for photo mode, loadouts, quicksave, and, ahem, "more swimsuit options for Gustave."

In IGN's 9/10 review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, we described it as a "modern RPG classic," adding: "In so many ways, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reminded me of numerous classic and contemporary RPGs I love, but developer Sandfall truly understood why those games are special and made the pieces it borrowed its own." If that's convinced you to give it a go, be sure to check out our tips for the important things to know before going into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

The cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stopped by IGN Live this month to not only discuss the beloved new game, but also to exclusively premiere an over 10-minute look at the game's making-of documentary. It comes after the team was congratulated for their success by the French President Emmanuel Macron himself.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Nintendo Switch 2 users have reported having the vibration effect of their controllers turned off, should the console detect you making "prolonged use" of their rumble feature.

Reports of warnings for excessive rumble use have filtered in since the Switch 2's launch earlier this month, as users see a message from Nintendo pop up on screen — "Rumble has been turned off due to prolonged use" — before the ability to make the Joy-Con vibrate further is temporarily disabled.

"I was getting this message originally after about an hour and a half of handheld playtime," one user wrote on reddit. "Now it shows within the first 20 min. Anyone else having this issue?"

Switch 2 owners say they've experienced issues with Joy-Con rumble while enjoying a number of games, including vibration-heavy moments in Cyberpunk 2077 (firing the minigun is reported to be particularly energetic), and during cutscenes within The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on Nintendo GameCube.

But a reddit thread of users tracking the issue lists other titles, too. "Got it during the final boss of Sonic Generations," wrote one disappointed fan. "Been getting it a few times playing Fast Fusion," noted another.

Nintendo is yet to address the warning, though fans believe it is a feature designed primarily to limit the Joy-Con's battery consumption. After all, vibration requires extra power, and while disabling the feature entirely is somewhat heavy-handed, the move will ensure your Joy-Con don't too quickly run out of juice.

"This keeps popping up for me, too, even when I've only played for a few minutes," wrote one concerned fan in another reddit thread on the issue. "Worried I have a defective Joy-Con."

For now, fans impacted by repeated warnings say that fully disabling controller rumble in the Switch's settings menu is their only option to avoid the pop-up continually recurring. Others say that the warning was, for them, only temporary — with the ability to recover their buzz in a matter of minutes.

IGN has contacted Nintendo for more.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

All the major studios and publishers have now revealed their biggest announcements through the numerous summer showcases. But IGN’s Summer of Gaming continues! We’ve already run down the biggest and best trailers of the season, but now we move on to bigger issues. Which games have us the most excited and counting down the days until they’re eventually released?

That’s why we’re here today to highlight our most anticipated games… and decide which one we’re hyped for the most. Our top pick has been chosen from a pool that includes every reveal from across the various shows we’ve seen, as well as the games that we’ve been able to go hands-ons with. We’ve also considered the enthusiasm that you, our readers and viewers, have shown for the many newly-announced titles – and so we’ve weighed up comments and trailer viewcounts along with our own personal excitement.

But before we get to our top pick, let’s take a bit of time to reflect on some of the other amazing games we’ve seen and played over the past couple of weeks. Here are some of our other favourites:

5. Ninja Gaiden 4

Soulslikes may have dominated the last decade of action-RPGs but the hack-and-slash renaissance is in full swing thanks to games like Ninja Gaiden 4. Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, two of the best character action developers in Japan, are teaming up for this direct sequel to 2012’s Ninja Gaiden 3.

The high-speed actioner jumped onto the scene in style thanks to a stylish new trailer, but our 25-minute hands-on with the game left us wanting to play much, much more. Super-fast and hyper-bloody, it will make you feel like the ultimate killing machine, provided you have the dexterity to juggle your enemies and pull off the right combos, of course. Luckily, we won’t have to wait too long, as Ninja Gaiden 4 will be out on all platforms on October 21, 2025.

4. Silent Hill Remake

It may have been just a logo and a little bit of nostalgic music at the end of Konami’s Press Start livestream, but the announcement that the Silent Hill 2 remake’s developer Bloober Team will be tackling the original Silent Hill as its next collaboration with Konami was enough to send all of our heads spinning.

The first Silent Hill kicked off one of the most horrifying and beloved video game franchises in history, but while it was ahead of its time in many respects when it came out in 1998, it certainly hasn’t kept up with the times. A remake crafted with the same care and consideration Bloober gave to its sequel is certainly an exciting prospect.

3. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls

Move aside Marvel vs. Capcom, there’s a new superhero fighting game in town. The big surprise of PlayStation’s latest State of Play was Arc System Works’ Marvel Tokon, a 4v4 tag team fighting game featuring Marvel heroes like Iron Man and Captain America reimagined through a Japanese lens. Arc System Works is already lauded for their visually striking and deeply competitive fighting games like Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ, but Marvel Tokon could take this beloved-but-niche developer to new heights thanks to the power of Disney. The detail and depth of mechanics showcased in the lengthy reveal means Marvel Tokon just inches past our excitement for another superheroic fighting game announced over the Summer of Gaming - Invincible VS. Plus, Fighting Souls is 4v4 rather than 3v3, so that extra couple of heroes only helps push our anticipation up further.

2. 007 First Light

IO Interactive finally unveiled its long-awaited 007 game and – surprise! – it looks fun as hell. While the developer’s usual suited assassin, Agent 47, might be an emotionless killing machine, young James Bond here in 007 First Light looks to be having the time of his life as he sets out on the path to become one of the most famous secret agents in the world (a mission that, admittedly, seems something of a contradiction).

The trailer has everything a good James Bond game should have: exotic locales, sports cars, laser wrist watches, a little light flirting, and plenty of explosions. Pair that with the knowledge that IOI has said we should expect the same level of freedom as available in the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy, and 007 First Light is one game we just can’t wait for (plus, with a 2026 release window, this is likely going to be our first big Bond outing since Daniel Craig bowed out). Perhaps the only reason it’s not our overall most anticipated game of the event is that we sadly haven’t had a chance to play it yet, and therefore can’t definitively speak to its quality. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for gamescom 2025…

So, that’s four reveals of varying sizes that have us hyped for future games. But the big one – our most anticipated game – is something coming pretty soon, and something we’ve already been able to play. And, based on how much we love its predecessors, we’re hoping it continues the series’ legacy and offers up one of the finest survival horror experiences of the generation. Our most anticipated game from the Summer of Gaming is…

1. Resident Evil Requiem

Capcom delivered an epic bait-and-switch during Summer Game Fest 2025, suggesting that there would be no official Resident Evil 9 announcement as part of the show, only to formally reveal Resident Evil Requiem a few minutes later. I guess delayed jump scares are part of the Resi recipe, after all.

The next mainline entry in the popular survival horror franchise is set to star a new hero, Grace Ashcroft, who has a close relationship to a character from a forgotten Resident Evil game. More excitingly, though, Capcom revealed that Resident Evil Requiem will be playable in both first- and third-person at launch, combining the best of both worlds when it comes to modern Resident Evil games. We got a chance to play a short preview build of Resident Evil Requiem and came away impressed with how first-person focuses on pure horror, while playing in third-person delivers some added action thrills.

Grace seems like a compelling new character, too, given her background as an FBI analyst who’s more comfortable behind a computer than with a gun. This’ll make her (and us) even more afraid when we come face to face with Requiem’s new stalker monster, a hulking figure whose grotesque frame fills up entire hallways.

All this, plus Capcom’s ongoing winning streak of great games, means we’re incredibly excited to play the next mainline Resi game when Resident Evil Requiem is released on consoles and PC on February 27, 2026.

Resident Evil Requiem is our most anticipated game from the Summer of Gaming, but what’s yours? You can let us know in the comments below, or join us tomorrow when we’ll be ranking the biggest announcements in an IGN community tier list.

Earlier this year, Pokémon Go maker Niantic announced it was selling its portfolio of mobile games to Monopoly Go owner Scopely for $3.5bn, in a move that was both celebrated and scorned by parts of the game's devoted playerbase.

For some fans, new ownership finally meant freedom from previous owner Niantic's focus on pushing largely unwanted augmented reality features into the game. (Post-sale, Niantic has essentially rebranded under a fresh title, Niantic Spatial, and made pursuing AR technology its sole goal.) Scopely, by comparison, is entirely gaming-focused.

But for other fans, particularly those who have played other Scopely titles, the change sparked concerns around the potential for increased monetisation, and of any involvement by Scopely's parent company Savvy Games, which is a product of Saudi Arabia's controversial Public Investment Fund.

As part of his first round of interviews since the $3.5bn acquisition was finalised earlier this month, I sat down with Pokémon Go director Michael Steranka to discuss the impact of the game changing hands, and what being owned by Scopely would really mean for fans of the hit smartphone game going forwards.

"We physically moved basically one block over so, you know, it wasn't too much of a change," Steranka begins, as we sit on Pokémon Go-branded deck chairs at the game's big Go Fest 2025 live event in Paris last weekend. "It was actually one of our overflow offices that we had anyways, so a really familiar space.

"I would say the most remarkable thing about this transition so far is how uninterrupted it's been," he adds. "It's very much been business as usual."

For Pokémon Go, business as usual means a continually busy schedule of in-game events and additional Pokémon releases, as well as physical events such as Go Fest 2025 and the upcoming debut of a mysterious mobile event series, Pokémon Go Road Trip 2025, set to begin in the UK later this month and wrap up in Cologne in August. Throughout this, and through its acquisition period, Steranka says Pokémon Go has continued as normal — though it is, as he acknowledges, still early days.

"Granted, [the acquisition] fully closed during Osaka Go Fest, the team has been quite busy, and so it's probably intentionally not disruptive around this moment in time," he notes. "But the sense that I've been getting through all the conversations I've had with folks at Scopely is the way they operate is to be quite unintrusive with individual game teams.

"As you know, our full development team moved over with us, and in terms of the day to day, who we interact with, we all still ladder up to Ed Woo, our team's leader within Niantic, who still is within Scopely as well."

So, what will change? Let's start with a positive for most Pokémon Go fans — the likely reduction in focus of AR-focused gameplay going forward.

"The key thing that's maybe a little bit less of a priority is the augmented reality focus," Steranka acknowledges. "It's no secret a lot of players have not been super excited about some of the AR systems that have been added to the game over the years. Moving forward, if we add any AR functionality to Pokémon Go, it'll be because we as a team really believe it's going to be a fun and exciting thing to add."

Unlike Niantic, Scopely is a company entirely dedicated to video games — something Steranka perhaps tellingly describes as a "breath of fresh air" for his own team.

"Philosophically it's great, or I'm expecting it to be great, to be at a company that's fully dedicated to games, because that's where I feel like we did struggle a little bit over on the Niantic side," he says. "It's just when it comes to overall company priorities, and where do we want to invest, and what sort of company initiatives we're pushing forward at Scopely, it'll be very much focused on what's best for this game. And I think that'll be a nice breath of fresh air for everybody."

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach creator, Hideo Kojima, reportedly changed the game halfway through because playtesting results were "too good," and he doesn't want his work to be "mainstream."

The revelation comes from Yoann "Woodkid" Lemoine, who worked closely with Kojima on the upcoming game's soundtrack. Talking to Rolling Stone, Lemoine talked about his process — both with Kojima and without — and the challenges of writing music for a medium that's changing in real-time as players progress through the game.

Interestingly, he also reflected on Kojima opening up about the "problem" of having players "like [Death Stranding 2] too much." "That means something is wrong," Kojima told him. "We have to change something."

"There’s a key moment where we had a discussion, probably halfway [through] when we were doing the game, where he came to me and he said, 'We have a problem,'" Woodkid explained.

"Then he said, 'I’m going to be very honest, we have been testing the game with players and the results are too good. They like it too much. That means something is wrong; we have to change something.' And he changed stuff in the script and the way some crucial stuff [happens] in the game because he thought his work was not polarizing and not triggering enough emotions."

According to Kojima, "If everyone likes [your work], it means it’s mainstream. It means it’s conventional. It means it’s already pre-digested for people to like it."

"I don’t want that," Kojima reportedly told Lemoine. "I want people to end up liking things they didn’t like when they first encountered it, because that’s where you really end up loving something."

Woodkid added "that was really a lesson for [him]," convincing him "not doing stuff to please people, but to make them shift a little bit and move them."

Not long to go now — Death Stranding 2 is out on June 26, 2025. Hideo Kojima is also working on a live-action Death Stranding film with A24, and we recently learned that a Death Stranding anime is in the works, too. He's also working on a PlayStation exclusive action espionage project called Physint, and called the upcoming Xbox-published OD "a game I have always wanted to make."

Earlier this month, the U.S. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) suggested Death Stranding 2 players will be able to bash stuff to death with a guitar.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

As the wait continues for news of Ubisoft's long-delayed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, the publisher has reassured fans it is still persevering with the project, and instead recommended something else to play while you wait.

Ubisoft first announced a remake of the beloved Prince of Persia: Sands of Time back in 2020, and said it was set to launch the following year. The project has had a rocky development, with multiple delays and a full reboot as work was restarted back at Ubisoft's Montreal mothership, having originally begun at Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai.

Now, with no sign of the game during any of this month's various announcement shows — Sony's PlayStation State of Play, Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase, or Summer Game Fest — Ubisoft has spoken out to confirm its Sands of Time remake is now "deep" in development, as the game's current vague 2026 launch window edges ever closer.

"Yep, we're still deep in the game — exploring, building, and ensuring the sands move with purpose," Ubisoft wrote on the official Prince of Persia social media account.

"This game is being crafted by a team that truly cares, and they're pouring their hearts (and a lot of coffee) into every step. Thank you for sticking with us."

Yep, we’re still deep in the game — exploring, building, and ensuring the sands move with purpose. 🗡️⏳

This game is being crafted by a team that truly cares, and they're pouring their hearts (and a lot of coffee) into every step.

Thank you for sticking with us. 💖 pic.twitter.com/9bKjZHjmur

— Prince of Persia™ (@princeofpersia) June 16, 2025

While there's still a long wait ahead for Prince of Persia fans, Ubisoft noted that there was another entry in the series that's well worth a try: The Rogue Prince of Persia, developed by Dead Cells studio Evil Empire, which is currently set to leave early access in August.

"While development continues behind the scenes, there's another adventure waiting for you right now: The Rogue Prince of Persia — fast, stylish, and built with the same dedication," the publisher added.

While Ubisoft didn't mention it, Prince of Persia fans should also spare a thought for The Lost Crown, the series' 2024 Metroidvania-style entry. Despite a positive critical reception, the game failed to generate sales. Ubisoft subsequently disbanded its development team into other departments, scrubbing hopes of a sequel.

Ubisoft is currently in something of a quiet patch for new game launches, following the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows back in March this year. The game's first expansion, Claws of Awaji, is due before the end of 2025, but new games in the publisher's other big franchises are further off.

As the company restructures itself with the help of €1.16 billion investment from Chinese giant Tencent, it has also delayed a number of its upcoming big budget releases in order to afford them extra development time — likely meaning a longer wait for the return of Far Cry.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social