Labor Day deals have arrived to offer shoppers a little taste of savings before the big sale events kick off in the coming months. If you've been looking to stock up on video games, you're in luck: quite a few are on sale right now, including some that are back at their lowest prices yet.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of these deals, with the Limited Edition (and Amazon Exclusive) version for PS5 marked down to $49.99 (see here at Amazon). This discount offers you $20 of savings from its list price of $69.99 and marks a return to its best price so far, according to price tracker camelcamelcamel.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Down to Just $49.99

The Pokémon Trading Card Game shows no signs of slowing down in 2025. Whether you're a competitive player, a casual collector, or someone who's just dropped way too much money on framed booster art, this year's TCG lineup is going all in with new mechanics, nostalgic reprints, and plenty of chances to chase that cardboard high.

Pokémon TCG: 2025 Release Calendar - At a Glance

• Prismatic Evolutions: Jan. 17, 2025 (Out Now)
• Journey Together: Mar. 28, 2025 (Out Now)
• Destined Rivals: May 30, 2025 (Out Now)
• Black Bolt and White Flare: Jul. 18, 2025 (Out Now)
• Mega Evolution: Sep. 26, 2025

Mega Evolution - Sept. 26, 2025

The Pokémon Company started releasing annual holiday calendars back in 2022, inspired by the Pokémon Countdown Calendar from 2008.

These products are surprisingly good value in the current TCG market, as well as for casual fans of the series in other forms. You can see the listing here at Amazon or scroll on for more details.

The 2025 Pokémon Holiday Calendar released on August 22 and initially retailed for $49.99 at Target before quicklly selling out. It's now available at Walmart for a pricier $64.99 or at Amazon for $69.

The Mega Evolution expansion for the Pokémon Trading Card Game is one of the most anticipated sets in years. With fan favourites like Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex confirmed, hype is driving preorder frenzies across every major retailer.

The U.S. release date is September 26, 2025, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will see the set two weeks later on October 10, 2025.

Finding sealed products like these at a fair price is already a challenge. Some stores are holding MSRP, others are inflating prices, and secondary marketplaces have their own dynamics to keep in mind, too.

While we can maybe expect products from this set to be joining Pokémon TCG deals further down the line, huge initial demand will definitely see certain cards become price juggernauts among upcoming crashers and climbers.

To make navigating the preorder chaos as easy as possible, here’s the complete breakdown of where to secure your Mega Evolution boxes, bundles, and packs before launch.

Elite Trainer Box (ETB)

The ETB is the centrepiece of the Mega Evolution set, featuring either Mega Lucario or Mega Gardevoir designs. Each box includes 9 booster packs, card sleeves, dice, and other useful accessories like damage-counter dice and a competition-legal coin-flip die.

• TCGPlayer: Resale prices are already well above retail, averaging $99–$103. Pokémon Center exclusive versions (different art) are listed around $370 and sell out quickly.
• Best Buy: Lists ETBs at $49.99 (MSRP), though stock rotates between “Coming Soon” and “Sold Out.”
• Walmart: Preorders currently not available, but may be back in stock irregularly — but usually slightly above MSRP at listings around $59.99 when in stock.
• Amazon: Currently one listing available at $144.99. Third-party sellers tend to inflate these further, with early listings hitting double MSRP.

For collectors who must have the ETB, Best Buy and Walmart are worth constant refreshing. If reliability matters more, TCGplayer is the most straightforward (though costly) option.

Booster Box (36 packs)

• TCGplayer: No listings currently available, but market value for certain SKUs listed at $49.99 — around five times MSRP. Listings are likely to appear here soon.
• Best Buy: Only retailer with a listing at MSRP, but currently out of stock.
• Walmart: Previously available, but no unlisted — may appear again ahead of launch.

Extra Need-to-Knows on Scoring Mega Evolution cards

Every major item in the Pokémon TCG’s Mega Evolution expansion is either up for preorder or will be surfacing more soon at retailers as we get closer to its September 26 release date. Getting MSRP (or around it) can be possible at Best Buy and Walmart if you’re fast, while TCGplayer remains the most consistent — albeit more expensive — source for every sealed product type.

Amazon, meanwhile, continues its trend of inflated third-party listings, with Booster Boxes already at nearly $280.

With demand surging and allocations already under pressure, the safest move is to lock in preorders now, whether through TCGplayer’s stable secondary market or by constantly refreshing Best Buy and Walmart listings for MSRP opportunities.

While Amazon UK has been known to counter this with invitational lotteries, like for the Destined Rivals ETBs, letting you sign up and be hopefully chosen at random to buy ETBs and boosters at MSRP, the inflated Wild West-like prices are often still the only way to get them at Amazon US.

Prime shipping and return protections are convenient, but the reliance on third-party sellers creates a market where prices can spiral quickly. Unless convenience outweighs cost, Amazon should be among your last stops for preorders, as far as availability at other retailers currently goes.

With allocations expected to be tight and demand surging, the Mega Evolution set is shaping up as one of the most competitive preorder chases of the year. Whether you choose to gamble on catching an MSRP restock at Best Buy, secure a reasonably priced blister from Walmart, or lock in a sure bet on TCGplayer, acting early is the best strategy to avoid overpaying later.

Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.

It’s Labor Day, which means in many cases it’s your last chance to pick up any items on sale for the holiday. Lots of the sales started last week and end today. If you’re looking for a deal on a LEGO set, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve scoured all of the Labor Day sales for 2025 and gathered the best LEGO deals all in one place below. Let’s take a look.

Featured in this article

Here's a catlog of all the sets we highlight below. For more info about each of them, keep scrolling.

LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon A New Hope 25th Anniversary

LEGO Harry Potter Flying Ford Anglia

LEGO Disney and Pixar ‘Up’ House

LEGO Star Wars: A New Hope Tantive IV

LEGO Animal Crossing Fly with Dodo Airlines Airport

LEGO Sunflowers

Sony has announced a PlayStation State of Play broadcast for this week, featuring a deep dive into James Bond game 007 First Light from Hitman maker IO Interactive.

The broadcast is set to air this Wednesday, September 1 at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern, or 7pm UK time via PlayStation's YouTube and Twitch channels.

"In this upcoming State of Play, tune in for over 30 minutes of gameplay featuring a playthrough of Bond’s first mission as an MI6 recruit," Sony wrote of its upcoming presentation. "The action includes everything from high-speed car chases to on-foot stealth sequences and shootouts. Stay tuned after the playthrough for insights from IO Interactive on the intense espionage gameplay."

State of Play presents a 007 First Light deep dive on September 3

Get ready for over 30 minutes of new gameplay. Full details: https://t.co/vcWphVZqkk pic.twitter.com/WoXmQNYAo6

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 1, 2025

PlayStation made no mention of any other game set to be showcased in the upcoming State of Play, so it's worth lowering your expectations for more from the upcoming Ghost of Yōtei, or anything else from Sony's first-party studios.

While the Hitman series is "definitely not done," IO Interactive is now aiming to develop a new trilogy of Bond games featuring a fresh-faced take on the iconic character. First Light is the first chapter of this story, and will showcase an origin tale for an all-new original Bond incarnation unrelated to any specific book or film incarnation.

Previously, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak explained how the studio would be keeping costs managable over the course of the Bond trilogy by building on each game in sequence, without unecessary expense — such as by not producing multiple new toilets.

A previous look at the game, during a PlayStation State of Play broadcast back in June, left fans certain that Dexter: New Blood star Patrick Gibson was the behind the new Bond. Here's hoping IO Interactive finally gets around to acknowledging that this week, and maybe also a final release date for the game.

As of now, 007 First Light is set to arrive sometime in 2026, for Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Stand by 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

DC made big waves in the comic book industry with the introduction of the Compact Comics line in 2024. The focus with these books is all on value, presenting classic comic book stories in a smaller package and a $9.99 price point. These inexpensive volumes have proven to be a big hit in the months since, and DC has rapidly expanded the Compact Comics line to include even more classic tales.

What exactly makes the Compact Comics line different from DC’s regular graphic novels? Which ones are most worth reading? We’ve got the full breakdown, along with links to purchase them for yourself.

What Are DC Compact Comics?

The idea with the DC Compact Comics line is pretty simple. These books are small in size and big on value. They focus on reprinting contemporary, new reader-friendly stories like All-Star Superman and DC: The New Frontier at a smaller page trim than standard DC trade paperbacks. They measure about 8.5” tall by 5.5” wide, making them more akin to manga collections or YA graphic novels like Dog Man.

That manga-esque format alone has helped them appeal to buyers normally wary of American superhero comics. But it’s really the price tag that’s been responsible for the line’s success. Compact Comics editions carry an MSRP of $9.99, falling just under that psychologically important $10 threshold. And if you shop around online, they can be had for even cheaper than that. Not bad, considering these volumes generally clock in at several hundred pages and collect as many as 12 issues.

Granted, there is a tradeoff here. You have to be willing to accept the smaller format in exchange for the cheaper price tag. But that’s a bargain plenty of readers have been willing to make over the past year. On ICv2’s list of the top-selling graphic novels of 2024, four DC Compact Comics made it into the top 10 - Batman: The Court of Owls, All-Star Superman, Batman: Hush, and Watchmen.

Needless to say, other publishers have started taking notice. Marvel responded with its own budget-oriented line called Marvel Premier Comics, though between the higher $15 price tag and the slower rollout, the Premier books haven’t made quite the same impact on the market. Regardless, with so much debate over how best to hook new readers, it’s clear that the DC Compact Comics line and similar initiatives are an important and necessary step forward.

But which ones should you buy? Let’s break it down.

All-Star Superman

Superman director James Gunn has made no secret of the fact that his film was heavily inspired by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman. Gunn could not have picked a better piece of source material on which to begin crafting a new cinematic universe. Many fans regard All-Star Superman as the greatest Superman comic ever published. We’d have to agree, as the book currently tops our Top 30 Superman Graphic Novels list.

All-Star is nothing if not accessible to newcomers. It’s a standalone story set within its own continuity that draws on both the classic Silver Age comics and the Richard Donner/Christopher Reeve movies. As the series opens, Superman finds himself grappling with his own mortality after literally flying too close to the sun. That prompts him to begin putting his affairs in order and undertake a series of feats akin to the 12 Labors of Hercules. Arguably, no creators understand both the grandeur and the human appeal of Superman as much as Morrison and Quitely, and this book remains their magnum opus together.

Buy All-Star Superman on Amazon.

The Authority: Relentless

Among many other characters, Gunn’s Superman introduces moviegoers to María Gabriela de Faría’s Engineer, a lethal, tech-based metahuman deeply committed to Lex Luthor’s cause. In the comics, the Engineer is a member of The Authority, a more militant and proactive alternative to the Justice League. It remains to be seen when and if we’ll meet the full team in the DCU, but there’s no better introduction to these characters than The Authority: Relentless.

Relentless collects Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch’s full 12-issue run on The Authority from 1999. Few superhero comics have proven as influential over the past 30 years. Hitch’s trademark “widescreen” comic art combines with Ellis’ dark, acerbic writing to create the ultimate postmodern superhero book. Not for lack of trying, the franchise has never managed to reach this pinnacle since.

Buy The Authority: Relentless on Amazon.

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga

There’s probably no better introduction to the modern Batman franchise than Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s New 52 series. The whole point of the New 52 initiative was to update and streamline characters for the 21st Century. Snyder and Capullo really hit the ground running, pitting the Dark Knight against one of his best new threats in decades - the shadowy Court of Owls.

Over the course of these 11 issues, Batman uncovers the existence of this shadowy cabal of Gotham City power players and comes to terms with the fact that he doesn’t know his city as well as he thought. If Capullo wasn’t already a comic book superstar thanks to his work on books like X-Force and Spawn, this run certainly cemented that status. The Court of Owls Saga also helped establish Snyder as one of the prime movers in the rapidly evolving DC Universe.

Snyder and Capullo would remain on the monthly Batman series for several years after, though none of that material has yet been collected in the Compact Comics format. But regardless, this storyline stands on its own as one of the true gems of the modern Batman era.

Buy Batman: The Court of Owls Saga on Amazon.

Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman

Catwoman has pretty consistently enjoyed a solo comic book series since the late ‘80s, but there’s one writer that towers over the rest - Ed Brubaker. Before he revitalized Marvel heroes like Captain America and Iron Fist, Brubaker revamped Catwoman and brought this antiheroine into the modern era.

Trail of the Catwoman collects the graphic novel Selina’s Big Score and the first nine issues of the 2001 Catwoman series. Together, these stories bring a welcome touch of noir to Selina Kyle’s world. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Brubaker had Darwyn Cooke by his side for the early issues. If you want to read more about Catwoman outside of Batman’s shadow, there’s no better place to start.

Buy Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman on Amazon.

DC: The New Frontier

The comics industry still mourns the loss of Darwyn Cooke, and to understand why, one need only read DC: The New Frontier. This is quite possibly the greatest Justice League story ever published, and is certainly a must-own at this price point.

The New Frontier presents a distinctly retro-futuristic take on the DCU. It’s set in the 1940s and ‘50s, exploring how this world and its characters dealt with the rise of McCarthyism and came to embrace a brighter, more optimistic new age. The book features a wide cast of characters, but it’s anchored by DC stalwarts like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter. You really don’t need to know much about DC lore to appreciate this love letter to a bygone era.

Buy DC: The New Frontier on Amazon.

Far Sector

If you’re interested in dipping your toes into the Green Lantern line and aren’t picky about which character wears the ring, then N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector is a perfect gateway drug. This series purposely distances itself from the rest of the DCU to tell a visually resplendent sci-fi murder mystery.

Far Sector introduces Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, a rookie Lantern tasked with policing a massive intergalactic settlement known as the City Enduring. When the city experiences its first murder in 500 years, it falls on Jo to unravel the conspiracy. The result is a fun journey through a remote corner of the DCU, one bolstered by some truly incredible art from Campbell.

Buy Far Sector on Amazon.

Kingdom Come

The mid-’90s weren’t the healthiest time for the comics industry, but there were some real gems to come out of this era. That includes Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come, probably the most iconic alternate future DC story this side of The Dark Knight Returns.

Among other things, Kingdom Come is a commentary on the rise of a grimmer, grittier class of anti-hero in the ‘90s. The series is set decades into the future of the DCU, a place where Superman has retreated from the world stage and a new generation of would-be heroes has risen up to replace him. Superman’s reluctant return ushers in a conflict between old and new and culminates in a truly apocalyptic conflict. The scope of the series is massive, thanks in no small part to Ross’ stunning, painted artwork.

Buy Kingdom Come on Amazon.

Y: The Last Man - Unmanned

Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man is one of the books that truly defined DC’s Vertigo imprint. It’s a postapocalyptic drama that’s sweeping in scope, yet never loses sight of the characters driving the conflict.

Unmanned collects the first 10 issues of the series, introducing readers to plucky Yorrick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand. Yorrick finds himself transformed from an ordinary shlub with a fascination with escape magic to the potential savior of the human race when a mysterious plague wipes out every other man on the planet. Cue the ultimate road trip.

One caveat worth noting here - Y: The Last Man ran for 60 issues in total, so you’re only getting the first few chapters of a much longer saga here. DC has shown no sign so far of collecting the rest of the series in the Compact Comics format, so you may need to switch to a different format to finish out the series. But regardless of how you read it, Y: The Last Man is essential.

Buy Y: The Last Man - Unmanned on Amazon.

Honorable Mentions: Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention both Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Each ranks among the most iconic and critically acclaimed DC books ever published, and both are natural choices for the Compact Comics line. That said, they’re a little harder to recommend than the other books on this list.

With both Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, the limitations of the Compact Comics format are more pronounced. As products of the ‘80s, they hail from a time when comic book art tended to rely more on denser page layouts with more tightly packed panels. When the pages are shrunk down to this level, the presentation starts to suffer. In particular, the text-heavy supplemental pages in Watchmen are a real chore to read at this size.

Make no mistake, both Watchman and The Dark Knight Returns are absolutely essential reading for any budding comic book fan. We just can’t necessarily recommend the Compact Comics versions. Fortunately, both books have been reprinted in just about every format imaginable, so you have no shortage of other options.

Buy Watchmen on Amazon.

Buy The Dark Knight Returns on Amazon.

For more DC fun, check out the Top 27 Batman graphic novels and the top 10 Batman crossovers.

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

Director Chris Columbus has ruled out any chance of Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reuniting as their characters in the future, due to the "political stuff" dividing them from franchise creator JK Rowling.

Columbus had previously expressed interest in reuniting with the Harry Potter trio for a big screen version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the hit West End and Broadway stage show that acts as a canonical eighth Harry Potter story.

Set 19 years after the final Harry Potter book, it features an adult Harry, Ron and Hermione — around the same age that Radcliffe, Grint and Watson are now. However, despite previously hoping the original cast might return for a movie adaptation, Columbus has admitted the idea was now "never going to happen."

"It's never going to happen," Columbus told The Times. "It’s gotten so complicated with all the political stuff. Everyone in the cast has their own opinion, which is different from her opinion, which makes it impossible.

"I haven't spoken to [JK] Rowling in a decade or so," he continued, "so I have no idea what's going on with her, but I keep very close contact with Daniel Radcliffe and I just spoke to him a few days ago. I still have a great relationship with all the kids in the cast."

Recent years have seen Rowling become one of the most prominent figures in the discourse over transgender issues, with her widely-criticised views causing a schism between her and some within the Harry Potter movies' cast.

Radcliffe, Grint and Watson have all previously distanced themselves from Rowling's opinions and spoken out in support of transgender rights, while new cast members for HBO's Harry Potter TV series such as Nick Frost and Paapa Essiedu have joined the project while simultaneously saying they disagree with Rowling's views.

The vast majority of the original Harry Potter cast, including Radcliffe, Grint and Watson, all returned for the 20th anniversary Return to Hogwarts documentary in 2022, though Rowling notably only appeared in archival footage.

Since then, Warner Bros. has been mounting plans for its ambitious Harry Potter HBO TV series reboot, which has now begun filming and will be in production for most of the next decade. This morning, Harry Potter movie star Warwick Davis was announced as the first cast member to reprise his role from the big screen.

As for Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, no plans for a movie adaptation are now believed to be in the works, despite it continuing to run globally in theatres on the West End, Broadway, in Hamburg and in Tokyo.

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

A nine-minute slice of Battlefield 6's battle royale mode has leaked online.

Despite presumably signing NDAs, participants in Battlefield's closed beta environment, Battlefield Labs, are continuing to share snippets of their experiences. This particular video from Misako_Mikato_01 on bilibili not only gives a good look at what to expect from the mode, but also reveals a couple of gameplay mechanics we didn't previously know about, too.

As highlighted on the Gaming Leaks and Rumours subreddit, Misako_Mikato's video confirms players can swim, go underwater, and shoot from within the water, reveals the ladder gadget apparently has two modes — one as a ramp, another as a ladder — and there's a "massive map."

The video kicks off from when the player picks their loadout and departs the jumpship, landing in a built-up area on the shore. We see them swimming and later pulling out a sledgehammer to knock down what appears to be a public bathroom in real-time. Apparently the ruckus gets unwanted attention, though, although they seemingly sacrifice themselves to go back into the sky, this time moving in-land and visiting a fancy, if ransacked, villa. Cue the sledgehammer again.

Commenters seem quite impressed by the video.

"I know many Warzone players that will be happy to finally have a serious [battle royale] alternative," said one viewer. "This could, potentially, pull in a large amount of players. If they stay depends on how good it will be." Another added: "If this Battle Royale retains the destruction from the base game, it has the chance to be the most dynamic [battle royale] of all time. That destruction will make every game feel different."

Battlefield 6's playtests have proven to be leaky indeed, though developer DICE has said it gathered "loads of feedback from the very active testers selected." Unlike Battlefield 2042's lukewarm reception, fans seem pretty pleased with what they've seen so far, and for some time EA wasn't even trying to take their leaked opinions down. So far, we've seen evidence of a new drag mechanic and the ability to cling on to vehicles, as well as improved in-game movement, 3D maps, improved destruction, quality of life improvements, and the start of a battle royale match.

We're having a great time with what we've played so far, writing in our Battlefield 6 review-in-progress: "Right now, even in beta form, Battlefield 6 might be the most fun shooter I’ve played this year."

Don't forget that from now until October 7 — Battlefield 6's launch day — EA has a "wave of content" planned for Battlefield 2042, including a free new pass "celebrating the legacy of Battlefield," new hardware, and a reimagining of the fan favorite Iwo Jima map. As you progress through the 'Road to Battlefield 6' pass, you can expect 50 exclusive cross-rewards, including 20 for Battlefield 6 that will be ready for you on launch day, on which you can also expect big changes to player movement, maps, modes, and player counts.

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.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 are hitting their lowest price yet, with Woot selling them at just $74.99 (down from $174.99). That’s $100 off a reliable pair of true wireless earbuds that usually go head-to-head with Apple’s AirPods at a much higher price, making this a serious Labor Day discount, and one of the best-value true wireless earbuds you’ll find in 2025.

Various options for the future of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have been discussed, including the possibility of a two-hour movie.

That's according to Number One actress Rebecca Romijn, who revealed that the show's final run had been something of a "negotiation" with Paramount, and that another idea had been to to wrap up the show by making a streaming movie instead.

Previous seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have clocked in at 10 episodes, something that does not appear to have been an option for the series' final run. Instead, its showrunners were initially told the popular series would be given a two-hour movie to wrap up its plotlines — before they insisted they needed more time.

"And six [episodes] — I don't know if I should say this, but six was a negotiation," Romijn said at the STLV: Trek to Vegas Convention, in comments first reported by TrekMovie. "Normally it was 10 episodes, but they offered us a two-hour movie and [co-showrunners] Akiva [Goldsman] and Henry [Alonso Myers] said we can't wrap up these storylines in just two hours. And so they got [six episodes]."

Despite Paramount's decision to end Star Trek: Strange New Worlds sooner than many fans would have liked, the decision was at least made in time for the show's writers to craft a final run of episodes in the knowledge the series was ending — something which wasn't the case on Strange New Worlds' parent show Star Trek: Discovery.

Production has now finished on Strange New Worlds' fourth season, which will air in 2026, with its fifth and final six-episode run expected to film next year.

"I think we feel very lucky to get a season five," Romijn continued. "Not all shows do. And we get to wrap up all of our storylines. I think most of us know where we're going and what happens to us. Not all shows get to have that. Some are surprised by the news that they don’t get a next season, and so everything ends abruptly. I think we feel grateful."

By the time the Enterprise warps off into space at the end of Strange New Worlds, the series is expected to catch up chronologically with Star Trek: The Original Series. That said, there are hopes among fans that some of the show's characters could still continue, in a fresh series showing later exploits of the crew.

While there hasn't been a full Star Trek film released in theaters for over a decade, Paramount recently turned its plans for a Section 31 spin-off TV series into a streaming movie — albeit to negative results. Last week, the film's star Michelle Yeoh spoke out for the first time about Section 31's universally negative reception, and admitted “there were some things that we could have done better.”

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

The fate of PlayStation's upcoming live-service game Fairgames is once again under scrutiny as its creative director, Daniel Drapeau, has confirmed he has left Haven Studios to join Warner Bros. Games Montreal.

It's the second high-profile exit of the summer, with studio founder Jade Raymond also exiting back in May, several weeks after an external playtest reportedly met a lukewarm response.

"As of this week, I joined WB Games Montreal Inc. as creative director," Drapeau announced in a LinkedIn post. "I can't wait to start this wonderful adventure with all the great people here at the studio. I also want to particularly thank Yves Lachance, Logan A. Lesage, and Bryan Theberge for their trust and support throughout the process. Now, let's do this!"

The news follows a rocky time for the game's development, and incorrect industry speculation surrounding its future. Last month, analyst Michael Pachter wrongly claimed the game had been canceled, though was later forced to walk back his statement and admit he had "no info on the game at all."

Neither Haven nor Sony have commented publicly on Drapeau's departure.

Regardless, the news will hardly restore confidence in PlayStation's embattled live service ambitions. Sony announced plans in February 2022 to launch more than 10 live service games by March 2026, later saying the push would bring games of different genres to different audiences. It spent big on studio buyouts as part of the drive, bringing in Destiny developer Bungie, the now shuttered Firewalk Studios, and, of course, Haven Studios.

Firewalk, you'll remember, was the studio behind Concord, one of the biggest disasters in PlayStation history. Just a couple of weeks after it launched to eye-wateringly low player numbers, Sony decided to kill the game entirely and shortly thereafter shut down its development studio.

The Concord flop came after Sony had already canceled Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game. And earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two unannounced live-service games, one a God of War title in development at Bluepoint, the other in the works at Days Gone developer Bend.

On the flip side, Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 has been a breakout hit, and became the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks.

Fairgames — stylized as Fairgame$ — is described as "a competitive modern heist game where you team up to break into exotic locations and steal the cargo." The twist is that you not only need to outsmart guards and security systems, but you also need to compete against other teams, too. There's no word yet on when it'll launch.

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.