During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we got another look at upcoming Xbox RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 along with a release date of April 24, 2025.
In a new trailer, we got more info on the game's story, which we're told doesn't focus on good vs. evil. Rather it focuses on a group of complicated, messy people who all are brought together to defeat that which is a threat to all of them. There's a focus on the relationship between the characters, and while it can get introspective, there are also NPCs whose stories and mechanics are somewhat lighter.
As we've seen in past trailers, the UI and battle menus are exceptionally stylish, channeling Persona a bit in their big energy. And we also got a look at unique character mechanics and customization via skill tree in the trailer, and what seems to be a massive colletion of possible equippable passive effects.
It was also revealed that Clair Obscur will follow in the steps of old-school RPGs and have an actual, navigable world map from which you can access various areas and towns. That's a heck of a nostalgia play.
Clair Obscur was first announced last summer at the Xbox Games Showcase from Sandfall Interactive and came as a complete surprise to most. It takes place in a world where an entity known as the Paintress "repaints" the world each year, during which time she also paints a cursed number on a monolith that causes everyone of that age and older to turn to smoke instantly and disappear. Every year, that number ticks down by one, with younger and younger generations dying each time. With the number "33" up next, a group of individuals led by a man named Gustave sets out to try and stop the Paintress once and for all in a turn-based RPG with incredibly stylish battles.
You can catch up on everything shown in today's Xbox Developer Direct right here.
During today's Xbox Developer Director, we saw a new trailer for South of Midnight complete with a release date of April 3, 2025 for those who purchase the premium edition, and April 8, 2025 for everyone else.
South of Midnight is a third-person action-adventure game set in a fantastical version of the American Deep South. In the trailer, we saw a good look at main character Hazel's powers, which blend the traditional craft of weaving with magic to allow her to fight, conjure things, and overcome environmental obstacles. As she fights, Hazel "unravels" enemies to destroy them in action combat, and has some elements of customization in her fighting style that can help her counter different types of enemies.
Hazel's story starts with a massive hurricane that seemingly kills her mother, but also gives her the ability to see a magic world beyond the real one that gives her hope her mother might still be alive. As she hunts for her, Hazel will visit different different regions ruled by magical creatures, each one with a different Southern Gothic history that she'll need to heal by collecting their fragmented memories. In the trailer, we got a look at several of these creatures, including a real big bird and a massive crocodile covered in spikes with giant trees going out of its back. A giant talking Catfish acts as a guide for Hazel as she awakens her new powers.
You can catch up on everything shown in today's Xbox Developer Direct right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
As well as announcing Ninja Gaiden 4, Koei Tecmo has announced a remake of 2008 Xbox 360 action game Ninja Gaiden 2 — and it’s out now.
Announced during Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Directo 2025, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black shadow-dropped across console, PC, and Xbox Game Pass today, January 23.
In a post on Xbox Wire, Team Ninja boss Fumihiko Yasuda explained the decision to remaster Ninja Gaiden 2.
“This simultaneous announcement and same-day release alongside Ninja Gaiden 4 might have caught some people by surprise,” he said. “The biggest reason for developing Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was to address the concerns of core fans who might be wondering, ‘What’s going to happen to Ryu Hayabusa?’ We also wanted to give players something to enjoy as they wait for the release of Ninja Gaiden 4. We chose Ninja Gaiden 2 because it stands as one of the most solid action games in the series. We added ‘Black’ to the title to signal to fans that this is the definitive version, much like Ninja Gaiden Black was for the first game.”
Yasuda continued: "This version is crafted to satisfy both those who played the original and newcomers discovering it as a current-generation action game. We’ve meticulously incorporated some of the additions of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 while staying true to the challenge and feel of the original 360 version, including its signature gore and violence. We’ve also adjusted the weapon upgrade system to more align with the original release.”
Team Ninja’s infamously challenging Ninja Gaiden series has a long association with Xbox. The developer’s reboot of the action series launched first on Xbox in 2004, propelling master ninja Ryu Hayabusa into the mainstream. Ninja Gaiden Black, considered one of the greatest action games of all time, launched the following year.
Ninja Gaiden 2 came out in 2008 published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. Ninja Gaiden 3 followed in 2012 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Since then, fans have had the critically panned spin-off Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and, more recently, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, a compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.
Publisher Koei Tecmo revived interest in Ninja Gaiden with the announcement of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, a brand-new side-scrolling spin-off due out later this year. But the main event is Ninja Gaiden 4, which finally continues Ryu Hayabusa’s story 13 years after Ninja Gaiden 3 came out.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Xbox's big Developer Direct has arrived for 2025 and promises to reveal more about DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and the reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4! While we don't know exactly what these studios will show, we will be covering it live and updating this page as the show goes on!
What are you most excited for? Let us know below!
Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced From Team Ninja and PlatinumGames for Fall 2025
While Ryu Hayabusa will play an important role in the story and will be playable, Ninja Gaiden 4 will star Yakumo, a new character from the Raven Clan.
“A significant amount of time has passed since NINJA GAIDEN 3, and players will find themselves arriving in a gruesomely transformed Tokyo," Ninja Gaiden 4 director and producer from PlatinumGames, Yuji Nakao, said to Xbox Wire. "One of the key themes of this story is the return of the Dark Dragon, which has plunged the city into chaos. Within these unsettling conditions, Yakumo will have to face off against his foes, as well as the formidable Master Ninja himself, Ryu Hayabusa."
Yakumo will not have an easy road through Tokyo, as it has been threatened and changed by the Dark Dragon's miasma rain. Luckily, he'll have some new abilities like being able to travel at high speeds via rail and wire-based actions.
Yakumo will also be able to use his "Bloodraven Form," which is described as a "technique that manipulates the blood of oneself and enemies, transforming it into a massive weapon capable of slicing through multiple foes at once." When "certain conditions" are met, he will also be able to unleash a move called "Bloodbath Kill" which will "instantly bisect enemies in one strike."
Ninja Gaiden 4 will be released in Fall 2025.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Is Now Available Via a Surprise Shadow Drop
In the trailer, Hazel takes center stage and we get to see her impressive powers in action. From weaving with magic to conjuring things to overcoming environmental obstacles, she will have a lot of tools at her disposal to conquer any challenge that heads her way.
Throughout South of Midnight, Hazel will travel to different regions that are run by magical creatures inspired by Southern Gothic history. She'll need to help heal them by collecting their fragmented memories should she hope to emerge victorious.
Ninja Gaiden is back in a big way, with Ninja Gaiden 4 revealed as the mystery fourth game shown at Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct 2025. It's due out fall 2025 for Xbox Series X and S, PC via Steam, and PlayStation 5 and is a day one Xbox Game Pass launch title.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is published by Xbox Game Studios and in development at PlatinumGames, creator of Bayonetta and Nier: Automata, with Team Ninja collaborating. Expect a new main playable character, called Yakumo, although Ryu Hayabusa does appear in the story.
It's a direct sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3, but set a significant amount of time since the events of that game in a "gruesomely transformed" Tokyo.
Team Ninja’s infamously challenging Ninja Gaiden series has a long association with Xbox. The developer’s reboot of the action series launched first on Xbox in 2004, propelling master ninja Ryu Hayabusa into the mainstream. Ninja Gaiden Black, considered one of the greatest action games of all time, launched the following year.
Ninja Gaiden 2 came out in 2008 published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. Ninja Gaiden 3 followed in 2012 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Since then, fans have had the critically panned spin-off Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and, more recently, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, a compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.
Publisher Koei Tecmo revived interest in Ninja Gaiden with the announcement of Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, a brand-new side-scrolling spin-off due out later this year. But the main event is Ninja Gaiden 4, which finally continues Ryu Hayabusa’s story 13 years after Ninja Gaiden 3 came out.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
For all you space fans out there, or fans of space-themed LEGOs, here's an excellent set worthy of your collection. Amazon is offering the LEGO Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit 42179 for only $59.95, a savings of 20%. With this deal, you're paying about 11 cents per brick. This is the lowest price we've seen for this set and matches the best deal during Black Friday. Its interactive design makes it a wonderful kit for both adults and kids.
LEGO Technic Planet Earth and Moon in Oribt 42179
The Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit 42179 set measures 9" high, 12.5" long, and 7" wide. It's comprised of 526 pieces and is marketed for ages 10 and older. Technically speaking, this is a relatively simple build that can be completed in a few hours or less. And the fun's not over once you're done.
What's really awesome about this set is the interactive nature of it. Once you're done, you can simply turn the handle to get four different types of movement: (1) the Earth rotates on its axis, (2) the sun rotates on its axis, (3) the moon orbits the Earth, and (4) the Earth orbits the sun.
Not only is it cool to watch, but it's also an excellent learning tool for kids; on the technical side, they get to see how a crankshaft works. On the educational side, they get to see how the positions of the moon and sun relative to the Earth correspond to different months, seasons, and moon phases. It's definitely worth the modest asking price compared to many other LEGO sets that are essentially one-and-done after the build is completed.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Epic boss Tim Sweeney has spent quite a lot of money fighting Apple and Google over the way they run their app stores. How much? Billions of dollars. That, you’d think, would be unsustainable for most companies. But for Sweeney it’s an investment — a long term investment.
Sweeney’s ongoing battle to get Fortnite back on iPhones and Android phones while avoiding paying store fees is well-documented. The gist is this: Epic doesn’t want to pay the now standard 30% store fees on revenue made on mobile games. Instead, it wants to run the likes of Fortnite through its own mobile store, the Epic Games Store, without Apple and Google getting in the way and gobbling up its profit. Back in 2020, this dispute ended up with Fortnite blocked from release on iOS. In the U.S., nearly five years later, it is yet to return.
After multiple costly legal battles Epic is making some progress, mostly in Europe due to the Digital Markets Act, but hardly in the U.S., where there isn’t even a whiff of a legislation that would support Epic’s cause. In August last year, the Epic Games Store launched on iPhones in the European Union and on Android devices worldwide with Fortnite, Rocket League Sideswipe, and Fall Guys for mobile. But actually getting the likes of Fortnite up and running on mobile is a nightmare, with various “scare screens” putting up to 50% of users off, according to Epic.
Today, Epic is taking the next step and launching third-party games on the Epic Games Store on mobile with the same 88/12 revenue share for payments it processes and 0% on third-party payments. Nearly 20 third-party games are now available on the Epic Games Store on mobile (19 new games on Android globally and 16 new games on iOS in the European Union). As part of a new free games program, Bloons TD 6 and Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee are free to download until February 20. To start, there will be new games offered each month until Epic moves to a weekly schedule later this year.
But this third-party mobile game push comes with a heavy financial cost. To encourage developers to release their games on the Epic Games Store, Epic is footing the bill for Apple’s controversial Core Technology Fee (CTF). The CTF, which Epic calls “illegal,” would otherwise make releasing video games on the Epic Games Store on iOS financially unviable, Epic said.
So far, Epic has found none of the top 100 highest-grossing mobile game developers are willing to make the jump to the Epic Games Store because of the CTF and Apple and Google’s "onerous restrictions and scare screens." Epic says it can’t pay the CTF for developers in the long term, but it’s willing to do so while the European Commission investigates what it calls Apple’s “non-compliance” with the law.
Speaking to outlets including IGN ahead of today’s announcement, Sweeney said Epic had invested over $1 billion in the Epic Games Store so far. Sweeney also said Epic has been spending more money than it’s making every year “because we choose to reinvest in growth.” And it’s pumping “the greater part” of $1 billion a year trying to expand its business into mobile — including its fight with Apple and Google.
Throughout the spending, Epic has suffered significant layoffs. In September 2023, the North Carolina studio saw 830 employees, or about 16% of its workforce, lose their jobs. In October last year, Sweeney insisted the company was now “financially sound,” with Fortnite and the Epic Games Store both hitting new records in “concurrency and success.”
What is the endgame here? How long can Epic keep this huge spending up? Fortnite with its high-profile events and premium skins continues to bring in billions of dollars, and Epic of course has its lucrative Unreal Engine business fueling the video game industry. But for how much longer can Epic justify burning through billions in this seemingly endless fight?
IGN put that to Tim Sweeney, and here’s what he had to say in response:
“Yeah, I think we might run into serious financial problems after a couple more decades of this. But we're determined to fight this out. I expect large parts of this struggle will go on throughout the rest of this decade and we're fully committed to going through it and investing to break through.
“We're seeing this as an investment in Epic's future, both our future directly as a game developer ourselves, we see a much greater opportunity for Fortnite as a business if the market is open and competition is allowed on iOS, on an Android, and these big tech companies and their junk fees aren't crushing market entrances.
“But we also see opportunity for all developers. And because we have businesses serving all developers, the Unreal Engine and the Epic Games Store, our online services, we see an opening up of the market as offering a real breakout opportunity for Epic as a game company and an ecosystem company.
“And if you look at Epic’s history, we've always aimed big and we've always grown prudently. Our first big 3D game in the era of Doom and Quake was the first Unreal game in 1998. And that sold two million copies. It was pretty cool! And we made Gears of War and expanded to console, and that sold six million copies. And we decided to become an online game developer, and it took years to figure out how to do that, with years without growth. But we figured it out eventually with Fortnite in 2017 and now we're a company with billions of dollars of revenue a year and thousands of employees and an opportunity of the sort that we've never had before. And I do not see this as last phase of Epic's growth and opportunity, if we're successful in what we're trying to do and building online gaming into a much bigger, more social and connected world.
“Some people call it the Metaverse and some people call it just games, but it is real. And you find hundreds of millions of players who are highly engaged in immersive 3D games together with their friends. And we think that if we are successful with this, then someday there will be billions of users of this kind of game. And we think we're in an awesome position to be a leading company or perhaps the leading company in that world if the shackles are removed that prevent us and all developers from actually competing on our own and becoming first class companies in the industry.
“And if you back up and you look at the big tech landscape, not a single trillion dollar company anywhere in the world is a vassal in another company's ecosystem. You're either a company that has a direct relationship with customers and freedom to do business with them directly, or you're behind Apple and Google's paywall and you do not have that chance and you cannot grow and most of the profit your business produces will go to Apple and Google who will use it for fuck all… share buybacks and dividends rather than investment in hiring and innovating and building technology and making the world a better place.”
What Sweeney is essentially saying here is that Epic will keep fighting Apple and Google for decades to come if it has to, continuing to spend billions because it believes that if it wins, it will make many billions more in the long term. There is a huge amount of money at stake here, and Sweeney sounds determined to see it through. IGN has asked Apple for comment.
But it’s not just about how much money Epic has already spent, it’s about how much money it might have made had it bowed to Apple’s store fees, coughed up that 30%, and had Fortnite on iOS for the last five years.
IGN asked Sweeney if Epic had calculated this missed opportunity, and here’s what he had to say:
“Yeah, this is something we think about a lot and it's always hard to predict because there's just a direct number of users, percentage of users we had on iOS before and that could have continued, but we could have also potentially driven significant new forms of growth on mobile as new opportunities opened up in new markets where they were more mobile than PC and console.
“The fight against Apple and Google has certainly denied us a billion dollars of revenue, perhaps several billion, and we certainly could have been a higher revenue vassal to Cupertino had we stayed on the App Store and paid Apple's junk fees forever. But I felt very firmly that the proper way to challenge them was to demonstrate to the world the real effects of their policies because Apple... Apple does a good job of hiding it. They don't let developers tell users that they're paying 30% of their fee for nothing or their purchase price is going to Apple for nothing, and it's not widely known.
"And so this was largely a supply side dispute between developers and the platform ecosystems. The moment Apple blocked Fortnite, it became about access and about denial of access to markets and about monopoly abuse to further the company's economic objectives. And the moment Apple banned Fortnite, the conversation in the world changed and everybody realized that these companies aren't just some part of the supply chain that takes a cut. They are the sole viable distribution vehicle for platforms reaching billions of users.
“And around that time regulatory activity perked up and became serious and has come into force through a number of laws that have really begun to shake up the market. We view our company's aims on the scale of decades. We've been in business for 33 years now, which is a pretty long time for a tech company, especially a game developer. There were a lot of game developers in 1991, not many of them are around now.
“But we think our best days are ahead and we think our best days can only be achieved when we have true freedom and we believe the best way to get to that freedom is to go all in and fighting for access rather than arguing about money as Apple is trying to encourage all other developers to do.
“And so I have no regrets and I think that in the long run, we'll look back at the event in August 13th, 2020 when we opened up Fortnite and supported direct payment and gave customers savings by purchasing directly and avoiding Apple junk fees, that whole series of events I think will be the thing that instigated the change that is absolutely necessary for the future.
“Do you want your kids to grow up in a market where Apple and Google extract all the profit from all digital businesses and control access to all the information? It's not a good world, just like FYI. So no regrets, though it’s been terribly costly. We're really looking at our future opportunity and future value rather than the opportunity that we missed by fighting Apple and Google this way.”
The upshot is this: Epic is working with regulators in the European Union to stop Apple and Google from allegedly breaking the law (it wants both to comply with the Digital Markets Act and enable proper access to the Epic Games Store and its games), and it plans to bring the Epic Games Store to iOS in the UK and Japan at the end of this year.
But what about the U.S.? When will Fortnite finally return to iPhone in the country? “Once policymakers and courts in other countries like Brazil, Australia, Korea and the United States make it possible, we’ll bring the Epic Games Store to iOS in those countries too,” Epic said. “We will keep fighting to break down barriers not just for the Epic Games Store, but for everyone.”
Photo by Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
King Arthur: Legends Rise is a turn-based squad RPG from Netmarble that launched for free this week on Steam. You play as the legendary King Arthur in a fantasy world where mankind and the gods are at war.
To gain the power necessary to fight back against the gods, Arthur seeks out the fabled blade Excalibur. Trapped within the sword is the dragon Caliburn, with whom Arthur makes a dark pact to gain the ability to wield it. With blade in hand, you’ll embark on a mission to unite Britain and restore the kingdom of Camelot to glory.
To carry out that mission, you’ll summon allies pulled from the pages of Arthurian legend — iconic characters like Morgan le Fay, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, and more. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, with innate attributes that can define their role in your party and power up certain abilities.
For instance, Arthur is an Attack type, meaning he increases attack-centric abilities. He also has the Bull trait, which improves the accuracy of abilities that inflict status effects. Meanwhile, Guinevere is a classic tank. She’s a Defense type, which increases defense-centric abilities. And she has the Hound trait, which increases those same abilities even more.
Each character can also equip relics that determine their element. There are three elements — flame, frost, and storm — with each being strong against one and weak against another in a rock-paper-scissors system. Enemies also have an innate element (displayed to the left of their health bar), and all three can be present within the same fight, so you’ll want to make sure your party is equipped with diverse relics to stay prepared for anything your enemies throw at you.
Adding another layer to party building is the fact that each character thrives during particular weather. Some prefer the day or night, others perform best when it’s raining, and still others power up when it’s swelteringly hot or during squalls.
Once you’ve decided on your party, you’ll explore a world that fuses the aesthetics of medieval Britain with fantasy elements. As you make your way through the main story, you’ll come face to face with horrific creatures that will test your combat prowess.
Battles are turn-based, and you can see the turn order in the bottom left corner of the screen. Combat uses a vigor system, where each of your heroes has three abilities, and which ones they can access during a given turn depend on their current vigor. Each character has a basic ability that will add one vigor upon use, as well as more powerful abilities that will use two or three vigor upon use. Some abilities attack one foe, others attack multiple, while others support allies with either healing or buffs.
So you’ll need to strategize and think tactically in each fight, taking into consideration elemental strengths and weaknesses, bonuses from current weather effects, and the vigor levels of each of your allies. You don’t want to get stuck needing a healing spell, only to realize your healer doesn’t have enough vigor to use it.
The main story will take you across Britain and see you gather strength and gradually rebuild your home of Camelot. But if you want to take a break from that story, you can make use of Adventure mode, where you can explore the overworld. You’ll find environmental puzzles you can solve to open new pathways, uncover hidden treasures, and find other secrets.
If you’re more of the competitive type, you can battle your fellow players in the PvP Arena, where you can create diverse hero combinations and engage in strategic gameplay based on your opponent’s deck.
Or you can take part in even bigger Clan Wars, a large-scale war system where entire clans of players compete against each other through battles, seasons, and leagues. Clan members deploy their collected heroes and strategically position them within their faction, utilizing structures, gimmicks, and buffs to lead their clan to victory.
To experience all of this for yourself, you can download King Arthur: Legends Rise for free through Steam right now. To celebrate the game’s launch, the developers are offering limited-time packages that provide unique benefits and are only available to Steam users. To get more details about the game and its characters, you can check out the official website. Or join the community on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, or YouTube.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 won't be a PlayStation 6 exclusive despite Final Fantasy 7 Remake originally launching only on PS4 and its sequel Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth originally launching only on PS5, Square Enix has said.
Speaking to 4Gamer and translated by Genki on X/Twitter, Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said the PlayStation exclusivity tradition will be broken amid a wider shift to multiplatform releases.
4Gamer therefore asked if fans will need to buy a third generation of consoles in order to close out the story, but Kitase said definitively this won't be the case. "No, you can rest assured about the next one," he said.
The holidays and big seasonal sale events may be behind us, but if you're still itching to hop on the Game Pass bandwagon there's still time to save on a membership. Woot's currently offering an excellent limited time deal on three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, dropping its price to $33.99. There's a 10% off coupon "SAVETEN" that drops the price even further to $30.59 with free digital delivery, but keep in mind this coupon only lasts through the rest of today.
You can learn more about that deal, what's coming soon to Game Pass, and the big releases still to come below.
Woot's starting off 2025 strong with a great deal on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Right now you can score three months for $33.99. On top of that, there's a 10% off coupon you can use today, "SAVETEN", that drops the price to $30.59 with free digital delivery. This coupon only runs for 24 hours and will expire at the end of the day, though.
Considering the new price of Game Pass Ultimate is $19.99/month, you're saving $25.98 with this three-month deal, which is well worth taking advantage of to enjoy the massive Game Pass library.
Note that you can purchase multiple Game Pass codes and apply them to your account up to a maximum of 36 months, however SAVETEN is one-time use and will only work on one of your Game Pass codes.
What's Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?
Game Pass has a nice rotation of new titles to play every month. If you're curious about what's in store for the rest of January, we've got you covered. The Xbox Game Pass January wave 2 lineup is:
Far Cry New Dawn (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 4 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
Unfortunately, for those subscribing to the new Standard tier (available for $14.99/month), this does not give Game Pass users access to day one releases. This means big new releases on the platform like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will not be available on that tier.
What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?
Unfortunately with new games joining the catalog it means a few must take their leave. Below, we've listed the games that'll be leaving Xbox Game Pass on January 31.
Anuchard (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Broforce Forever (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Darkest Dungeon (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Death’s Door (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Maquette (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The latest big release on the platform is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which we gave a 9/10 in our review. IGN's Luke Reilly said, "With a host of gorgeous and lavishly detailed levels, satisfying combat hinged on jawbreaking haymakers, and a focus on slow-paced exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving (interspersed with a handful of high-voltage action scenes), The Great Circle is an irresistible and immersive global treasure hunt for Indy fans who’ve felt underserved by the likes of The Dial of Destiny and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
If you're looking for even more savings on all things Xbox, have a look at our roundup of the best Xbox deals. There, we've highlighted all of the latest and greatest discounts on the platform, from incredible game deals to fantastic offers on high-quality headphones. Or, if you'd rather see what's going on with other platforms, check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals, the best Nintendo Switch deals, and our overall roundup of the best video game deals.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is expected to launch March 20, 2025, after multipledelays. The most recent was only by a month, which doesn't seem like much time to change anything significant. So why did Ubisoft push the game?
According to the game director: roofs.
At a recent preview event for Shadows, we spoke with game director Charles Benoit, who confirmed that the month delay was "mostly about polishing" and did not change any big systems. The team did update "a couple of things in progression to make it more engaging, also balancing a bit more." But the main feature that needed extra tweaking was the parkour system, which Benoit says was running up against an obstacle unique to Feudal Japan.
"The Japanese architecture, the roofs [are] super complex," he said. "Probably the most complex thing that I ever worked with if we compared to Odyssey and Syndicate. We needed specific codes and specific animations to support something super fluid, changing the transition of the parkour to make it even more fluid. So that's one of the specific feedback that we heard that we wanted to address, and it really improved since the last few months."
Assassin's Creed Shadow was originally planned for release in November 2024, but was pushed to February 2025 and then again to March, with the company citing player feedback as a main reason for the delay.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
In many ways, Assassin's Creed Shadows has been a long time coming. The setting of feudal era Japan has been one of the dream locales that fans and even Ubisoft developers have had for the franchise's jaunt through humanity's secret history, and it's finally serving as the backdrop for the next entry. But Shadows has also been a game that has seen some notable delays to ensure the developers stick the landing. Simply put, there's a lot of anticipation for what's in store for Ubisoft's big return to a massive Assassin's Creed RPG.
After spending several hours playing Assassin's Creed Shadows, the next entry keeps up with the satisfying action and traversal that the series is known for, but it also showcases a sharper eye for worldbuilding, and giving its two protagonists their time in the spotlight. From my time sneaking through fortresses, taking in the sweeping vistas of the open world, and pulling off slick combat finishers, I got to see just how developer Ubisoft Quebec has improved its balancing act of satisfying action, RPG systems, and rewarding open-ended exploration in a captivating new setting that's been long overdue.
Since Assassin's Creed Origins in 2017, the series has stayed comfortably within the realm of the open-world RPG, offering an expanded scope and narrative decisions to alter the course of the story. While this shift led to some growing pains for the series, it has gotten a better handle on the additional layers to gameplay without compromising the fantasy of being an ancient assassin. With Shadows, the latest attempt at an Assassin's Creed RPG shows that developer Ubisoft may have also cracked the code on the role-playing element with its two unique protagonists, something the series has struggled to present in a way that hasn't muddied the narrative waters.
Ubisoft may have also cracked the code on the role-playing element with its two unique protagonists, something the series has struggled to present in a way that hasn't muddied the narrative waters.
Speaking with creative director Jonathan Dumont, he stated that Assassin's Creed Shadows has an underlying theme about unity. Given the backdrop of Feudal Japan and its period of unification, the game focuses heavily on the bond between the two leads and their growth throughout the game.
"For me, this game has a message about unity, and fighting for those who cannot, which is a responsibility that both of the characters have in the game," he said. "I think that it's about finding your place in that world, and I think both characters represent that and the importance of community and the importance of taking care of each other and going on this journey together through Japan in this period of unrest."
The latest game puts its sights on a new mystery deep within a revamped Animus program. In this new simulation, we focus on feudal era Japan and the secret history of both Yasuke, a historical African slave who became a full-fledged Samurai, and Naoe, a female Shinobi taking up the mantle of her father's legacy. The pair eventually team up to navigate a radically changing 1500s Japan, rubbing shoulders with other historical allies such as Oda Nobunaga and Kuroda Kanbei while taking down a shadowy cabal of warlords manipulating the country's attempt at unification from within.
I spent most of my playtime exploring Harima Province, one of the early zones that featured a questline involving an insidious plot to undermine the region's power structure. The world of Assassin's Creed Shadows is massive, but thankfully not to the ridiculous size of Valhalla. That said, plenty of opportunities were packed in this province, and the viewpoints to observe nearby points of interest helped point me in the right direction. A general theme I found compelling was how Shadows emphasized harmonizing with the open world – a cultural element the developers wanted to highlight with the Japanese setting.
This theme also extends to the side activities and how the world changes over time with shifting seasons that alter the terrain. Shadows ditches the need for hunting, and instead, you can find and draw rare wildlife found in the wild. It was an odd activity at first, but I found them endearing and a surprisingly wholesome change of pace. I soon found myself being taken in by how atmospheric and thoughtful the setting was.
Shadows also emphasizes the dynamic between the two protagonists and their agency within the world after bonding over being outcasts within the country. I really enjoyed their dynamic within the story, and they play well with each other during cutscenes. Yasuke is a gentle giant and wise Samurai enforcer who offers some poignant insights while learning about Japanese culture. Naoe's growth into an assassin with a heavy legacy to uphold shows an early look at the dramatic highs of the main story.
You're free to switch off characters in the open world and during moments in the main story, letting you play as who you want in most key missions. But in an interesting addition, you also have the option of playing in Canon Mode, which presents a defined story without major narrative choices – which was added after developers saw how many fans were debating what the definitive story was for Valhalla and Odyssey.
Yasuke and Naoe also represent the different extremes of Assassin's Creed's combat and stealth experiences, which have also seen clear upgrades across the board in Shadows. For combat, there's a heightened need for dodging and parrying strikes, crucial to piercing through armor to deliver a killing blow. It injects Ghost of Tsushima's offense and defensive style of swordplay, but it also has familiar AC combat skills such as power grabs and the always funny kick move I used plenty of times.
The setting of Japan was a setting that the developers have wanted to make for some time, and according to game director Charles Benoit, they also saw an opportunity to have the series lean further into its stealth-action roots.
It also has familiar AC combat skills such as power grabs and the always funny kick move I used plenty of times.
"If you look at the brand in general, we had a lot of stealth focus in the first few games, and then with the RPG, we saw a rise more of a rise with combat in Origins, so I feel Shadows is mixing the whole era of Assassin's Creed and bringing about a return to stealth as a focus," he said. "But combat is still very much a core pillar for us, which is why we wanted two characters. With the Japan setting, we have the archetypes of the Samurai and Ninja, and that gives a great opportunity to develop both equally."
I generally felt pleased with the more thoughtful approach to combat. However, it also comes with more challenges, which unexpectedly made some of the encounters in the game feel a bit more difficult. The game also struggled to present fights with multiple foes accurately, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed by enemies coming in off-screen. Still, when the new combat in Shadows hits, it certainly does hit.
What impressed me most with Shadows was the revamped stealth gameplay, which appropriately incorporates elements from Ubisoft's other stealth-action series, Splinter Cell. With the new visibility meter, you can see how open you are. Furthermore, there's a greater emphasis on light and darkness; you can even snuff out candles to add some cover. My favorite addition is the ability to go prone, which, as you can expect, is a game-changer for stealth. Playing stealth with Naoe was so satisfying, and it does well to showcase just how much that gameplay style has improved.
While both characters can combat and stealth, they also have clear limitations. For instance, Yasuke is a formidable fighter and is capable of ambushing enemies, however his large stature is not ideal for advanced stealth. In addition to being incapable of climbing certain areas, he's also not so great at performing the leap of faith.
As for Naoe, she's a skilled assassin with access to a grappling hook and smoke bombs. However, Naoe's nimble combat style is far more reliant on parrying and dodging, and one hit from an elite enemy's heavy strike can take a chunk of her health bar. While pulling off Naoe's combat skills was satisfying, I often had to resist the urge to take out every enemy and run for it when things got out of hand.
Continuing with Assassin's Creed Valhalla, you can manage and upgrade a base of operations. As you recruit allies, they'll head to your hideout to open up shops and offer new side missions that incentivize revisits to previous zones. But Shadows takes this feature a step further by allowing you to build out your custom village in the vein of Animal Crossing.
The town builder mode offers plenty of options to add necessities and some personal touches to the hideout. I spent an unexpected amount of time building more housing and decorating my space with Shinto shrines and pets – such as cats and tanuki. There are also side activities, such as a visually striking meditation mini-game, to help you earn additional perks. It's an unexpectedly cozy side activity for an AC game, and I was quickly taken in by how satisfying it was to walk around a massive village I had made in a reasonably short time.
So far, Assassin's Creed Shadows is shaping to be a solid follow-up to Ubisoft's ambitious Valhalla. Even if the familiar crop of open-world bugs and quirks popped up during my time, I still found a great deal to appreciate with Shadows and its worldbuilding. While this conceit is not an uncommon backup for video games – which can be easy to mess up with insensitive representation – Assassin's Creed Shadows so far does well to justify its take on an open-world RPG set during this culturally rich era, especially in its handling of the two protagonists. With the release coming soon, I'm eager to see how Ubisoft's take on Assassin's Creed's journey to Japan will come together.
Price founded Insomniac Games in 1994 and has remained there ever since. Under his guidance, Insomniac has built major franchises such as Spyro, Ratchet & Clank, and Marvel's Spider-Man, shipping 35 different games and building to nearly 450 employees. The company was acquired by Sony in 2019.
A press release from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) also notes Price's role in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, which struck down a law banning the sale of violent video games to children without parental supervision. He has also backed internal charity intiatives at Insomniac and Sony dedicated to STEM education and social justice.
Just yesterday, Price announced he was retiring from Insomniac after 30 years, with his role passing to Ryan Schneider, Jen Huang, and Chad Dezern as co-heads of the compant. Amidst his departure, Price said Insomniac was "in one of the strongest positions" it's been in for years, as it currently works to complete Marvel's Wolverine. Price says he made the decision to retire last year.
“Ted Price is a Hall of Fame game development leader and an even better human,“ Schneider said. “Ted has guided Insomniac Games and our industry with character and class for more than 30 years. He embodies Insomniac’s vision of making a positive and lasting impact on people’s lives, inspiring countless employees, partners and players in a truly remarkable legacy.”
The AIAS describes its Hall of Fame members as “individuals who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games.” Past inductees include Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon in 2022, Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima in 2016, Psychonauts and The Curse of Monkey Island lead Tim Schafer in 2023, and Nintendo composer Koji Kondo in 2024. The full list of those honored can be found here.
The 28th annual DICE Awards take place on February 13 in Las Vegas, and will be livestreamed by IGN.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Alongside previews for Assassin's Creed Shadows going live today, Ubisoft offered detail on a new feature for all future Assassin's Creed games called the Animus Hub, which seems to be the previously-reported Assassin's Creed: Infinity.
In a presentation from Ubisoft that IGN attended, Ubisoft revealed the Animus Hub, effectively a starting point from which games such as Assassin's Creed Shadows can be launched. However, Ubisoft was adamant that this was not simply another game launcher, but rather a feature embedded in Shadows that will also be integrated into future games such as the upcoming Codename Hexe or Codename Invictus.
The Animus Hub will be split into a number of sections, one of which will include direct paths to opening not just the main campaign of Assassin's Creed Shadows, but also other Assassin's Creed games if they're owned and downloaded on the system.
There's also a "Projects" section, which will feature ongoing content including new narrative missions tied to the game's new, modern day story, with free rewards baked in for Assassin's Creed Shadows. New content is expected to be released regularly throughout Shadows' post-launch period.
Ubisoft plans to tell an ongoing story through the Animus Hub that will extend into future Assassin's Creed releases and will take place in the "near future" to facilitate that progression. The story begins in Shadows, and is framed by longtime Assassin's Creed villainous organization Abstergo, which in the lore of the game has released a version of the Animus for public use, though the player's "version" of the Animus in the story will involve an expected touch of rebellion.
While this is perhaps a bit different from what we imagined when Infinity was first discussed, it's not entirely dissimilar from what Activision has been doing with Call of Duty, whose hub serves as a platform tying battle royale Warzone to whatever the latest Call of Duty is.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
If you're anything like me, you struggle to go anywhere or do anything without either music or an audiobook playing in your ears. Having a great pair of wireless headphones or earbuds is like having a trusty companion with you wherever you go. But sooner or later, like all bits of tech, your headphones will peter out and die, leaving you sub-par sound and decreased wearability leading to an uncomfortable experience all around.
You can't predict when your old headphones are going to need replacing, but you can predict when the best time to grab a new pair is as we head into 2025. If you follow the calendar closely, you'll begin to see the pattern of when you can pick up new headsets for a steal every year, although Black Friday and Cyber Monday are still your best bet.
Best Times to Buy Headphones
Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Not really a surprise that we're starting off here. The best time to pick up any piece of tech that you've had your eye on is Black Friday. Most people tend to associate Black Friday with massive savings on TVs and other high-end bits of tech. And while that's certainly true, you can look a little deeper to find savings on any bit of tech that you need.
Trusted headphone brands (more on those later) will all have their flagship products at a slashed price during the year's biggest sales event. Black Friday used to only be a one-day and in-store event, but in recent years it has moved online and expanded rapidly. You can find savings throughout the entire week of Black Friday, but they tend to peak on the day itself.
If you're too busy for shopping on the Friday, then make sure you're alert to any deals on Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is a day purely for online retailers to offer huge discounts as they look to shift the last of their Black Friday stock. Savings on Amazon for Cyber Monday are similar to their Prime Day events, but you'll also find discounts at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and any other online retailer you can think of. There's really not that much of a difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, so it's generally just a great time to find a discount.
The New Year
It might seem counter-intuitive to be spending money after Black Friday and Christmas have passed, but it's when you'll find deals that will typically fly under the radar. Most headphones will have a life cycle of 1-2 years and manufacturers will begin to lay out plans for their latest models in the early stages of the year between January and March. From this point on, older models will start to see a reduction in price and it could be a great time to get a hold of a new pair. Changes from release to release tend to be minimal so if you don't mind missing out on a few new features, then you can pick up an older pair for a steal around this time.
Springtime
Of course if you would prefer to get your hands on a brand new pair of headphones, then springtime is going to be your best bet. This tends to be when most manufacturers will release their products to the market and you'll see healthy stock levels at most stores that sell headphones. Of course, the old models will still be available too, and perhaps with an even further discount as they make way for the newer models.
Amazon Prime Day
This year Amazon spoiled us. They treated us to not one but two excellent Prime Days. These big sales events and for Prime Memebers only, and they typically run for two days at a time, with one event in July, and Prime Day 2 taking place as a pre-Black Friday event in October.
Outside of Black Friday, this is when you're really going to start seeing some excellent savings on headphones. Sony models in particualr will almost always have discounts, and you can also consistently find deals on AirPods during Prime Day.
Holiday Weekends
If you're shopping away from the big sales events, then it pays to be up to date with the holiday calendar throughout the year. Retailers will often use these holiday weekends as a chance to throw a flash sale and start cutting prices right across the board. They won't be comparable to the savings in the events above, but they're a great chance to catch some discounts when demand isn't so crazy.
Product cycles matter if you want to get the best deal. Paying attention to when certain products are coming out will give you a huge indiction of when the older models are going to get their prices slashed. The headphone product cycle tends to fall in line with the wider tech industry. Products will be announces at the big consumer tech conferences like CES early in the year and will start to be rolled out in the springtime. This is the time to pounce on the older models and save a bit of dough.
What Should You Be Looking For in a Pair of Headphones?
There is no one-size-fits-all model of headphones. What you need depends on what you plan to use it for, and what kind of things you like to listen to. Generally speaking though, there are some things that you should be looking out for and somethings that should be immediate red flags for models to avoid.
Balance
All headphone manufacturers are trying to attain the perfect blend of frequencies. Now, in a studio setting, this should mean that the ideal pair of headphones are aiming for a flat frequency response in which all frequencies and tones come through the headphones equally. This is to give you the best picture of the sound you're listening to.
Consumer heaphones and earbuds, however, tend to be made a little differently. The advent of certain styles of music over the last few decades have lead to an almost zealous pursuit of the purest bass tones going. Some brands of headphones, like Beats, will throw all their eggs in the bass basket, leading to a very bass heavy frequency response. This is great if that's what you're after. If you're looking for something less basy then you might struggle, but if you grab a model like the Sony WH-1000XM4, you can adjust the EQ using their handy app, but it's honestly difficult not to find any consumer headphones designed for bass response nowadays.
Style and Comfort
Do you want over ear, on ear, or earbuds? All of these things affect both the comfort and the performance of your headphones of choice. If you're looking for the best quality sound and immersion, then you're going to want some closed back over ear headphones. If you just want a casual pair that are extremely portable, then some bluetooth ear buds or one of the best wireless headphones will do the trick perfectly well.
Best Headphone Brands to Watch
Sony
Sony's excellent range of consumer heaphones are some of the very best out there. They've got models at lots of different price points and in loads of different styles. The previously mentioned WH-1000XM4s are my current day-to-day over-ears, and the noise cancellation on them is next level. Like most consumer headphones, they tend to lean a bit heavy on the bass side, but their range of smart headphones come with an adaptive EQ that you can fine tune to meet your needs.
Apple
This one is likely to draw the wrath of many an audio nerd, but I'm going to just say it, Apple make pretty decent headphones. And I'm including some of the models before the AirPods were brought in. At a relatively low to mid price range, you get a decent frequency response, they're comfortable, they're clear, they're crisp, they charge fast, and they've got a decent battery life. If you can spare the extra, it's definitely worth going for the AirPods Pro.
JBL
JBL are a stable of the commercial audio world. They make an excellent array of bluetooth headphones that are comfortable, decent quality, and best of all, affordable. They've never managed to absolutely blow me away but when you're in a pinch looking for a nice consumer audio product, they're a safe pair of hands.
Sennheiser
We're straying more into the realm of studio headphones here, and we're definitely starting to stray into the more espensive end of the scale, but, on the whole, Sennheiser tend to deliver. They've got a decent blend of both studio and consumer models. Their wireless over-ear Momentum 4 model is worth a look for a solid pair of bluetooth headphones that will be with you for many years. They've got an impressive 60 hours of battery life and boast adaptive noise cancellation for when you're out and about.
Beyerdynamics
Finally, we'll end with a more specialized brand. These aren't going to be your everyday out and about style headphones. I'm thinking specifically about the DT770 and DT990 models. These are perfect for podcasting, working, streaming, or just listening to your favorite album in stunning clarity. The DT770s are my everyday work headphones for my work as an audio editor, and I don't have a single complaint about them. They would be particualrly excellent if you wanted to plug some headphones into your record player. Just bear in mind that they come with quite a high impedence so you'll be needing an amp if you want to push them.
Budget Gaming Headsets We Recommend
If you're looking for a budget-friendly gaming headset without having to wait around for sales, here are some of our top picks:
Joe O'Neill-Parker is a freelance contributor for IGN, covering sports and tech. Before founding O'Neill Multimedia, he worked as an editor/producer for an international audiobook production company.
Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, for example, failed to net a single nod, prompting fans to serve up a loud reaction online.
Shortly after the 2025 Oscar nominations were unveiled, Challengers started trending on X/Twitter as fans of the Zendaya-led sports drama shared their dismay over the movie being shut out by the Academy. People expressed their surprise, with most of the confusion spiralling from the film’s score not getting the recognition so many felt it deserved, labelling the snub as “ridiculous” and “a mistake.”
No best original score Oscar nomination for CHALLENGERS’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/enLNVu9j94
Challengers has received numerous accolades during the current awards season, including four nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, where it ultimately took home the trophy for Best Original Score. The movie appeared in the music category alongside Conclave, The Brutalist, The Wild Robot, Emilia Pérez, and Dune: Part Two, which, bar Denis Villeneuve’s Dune sequel, all earned nominations in the same category at the Oscars.
Zendaya stars in Challengers as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach who gets entangled with her husband and ex-boyfriend both on and off the court. The tennis tale was widely beloved by film fans and critics, including our own. It emerged as one of IGN’s best-reviewed movies at the end of 2024, with Siddhant Adlakha, in his review, calling the love-triangle-drama “one of the sexiest and most electric” of its genre coming out of last year.
Its high praise wasn’t enough to earn it an Oscar nomination, but it wasn’t the only snub on the lineup for the 97th Academy Awards. Dune: Part 2 received a nod for Best Picture, but there was no shoutout for the director in his respective category.
Denis Villeneuve has now been snubbed of a Best Director nomination for both ‘DUNE’ movies. pic.twitter.com/XyHAkYa53V
Stanley Tucci also missed out on a Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Conclave, while Angelina Jolie got snubbed in Best Actress for playing opera singer Maria Callas in Maria. Selena Gomez also missed out on an expected nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in Emilia Pérez.
Other major films that missed out entirely include Blitz, Longlegs, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
angelina jolie, the academy didn’t acknowledge your talent this time and for that i will avenge you. pic.twitter.com/B7z7efgvRo
Warner Bros. Games boss David Haddad is set to leave the company, according to a new report.
Variety said Haddad will leave his role as president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment after 12 years of leading Warner Bros. Games.
The company has had a troubled 12 months, first with the catastrophic release of Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, then the disappointing release of Smash Bros.-style brawler MultiVersus.
Speaking in a financial call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said: "We recognise [the games business] is substantially underperforming its potential right now.”
Since then, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League post-launch content has come to an end with the delivery of its year one roadmap. Warner Bros. has yet to announce Rocksteady’s next game, but it is reportedly helping out on a director’s cut of Hogwarts Legacy. The legendary British studio has suffered a number of layoffs in recent months.
During the same financial call, Zaslav said Warner Bros. was doubling down on four games: Hogwarts Legacy (a sequel is already in the works), Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, "in particular Batman." Warner Bros. recently published VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow exclusively on the Meta Quest 3, and has a Wonder Woman game in the works at Monolith Productions.
"We are focusing our development efforts on those core franchises, with proven studios to improve our success ratio," Zaslav added.
According to Variety, Haddad will stay on with Warner Bros. discovery for the next three months as the company looks for his replacement during an apparent quieter release schedule.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
For most PC gamers, buying a prebuilt gaming rig is far more attractive than it used to be. Years ago it was inarguably cheaper to build your own gaming PC than to buy a boutique gaming rig. That's not the case anymore. It's not uncommon for major brands like Alienware, HP, and Lenovo to offer quality pre-built PCs for cheaper than the cost of building your own PC with the exact same specs.
We've compiled a list of the best current gaming PC deals, both from the manufacturers themselves like Dell (Alienware), HP, and Lenovo, as well as from reliable 3rd party retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. This includes an incredible deal on an Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC, which has dropped from $3699.99 to $2899.99. These PCs are significantly discounted from their normal retail price and are going to be less expensive than comparable models from other brands.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC for $2,899.99
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4070 Gaming PC for $1,599.99
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4070 Super Gaming PC for $1,799.99
More Dell and Alienware Gaming PC Deals
If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the brands we'd recommend. Alienware gaming desktops offer a staggering array of options, all built into a custom chassis that's both easy on the eyes and easy on the wallet. Consistent build quality, available inventory, frequent sales, and solid customer service are the main reasons why Dell is at the top of our buying list.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4060 Gaming PC for $1,299.99
Dell XPS Intel Core i7-14700 RTX 4060 Gaming PC for $999.99
More HP Gaming PC Deals
Of the big three OEM PC manufacturers, HP usually offers the lowest price on equivalently configured items. HP carries several different models of gaming PCs depending on how much power you need. At the upper end of the scale, the HP OMEN 45L offers a massive tower chassis with space for up to a 360mm all-in-one liquid cooler as well as a total of four additional 120mm case fans for ventilation. This is also the only model that can be configured with the latest RTX 40 series GPUs. On the other end of the scale, the HP Victus, Envy, and OMEN 25L gaming PCs feature understated aesthetics and a bargain price point. These PCs can still be configured into formidable gaming rigs.
HP Victus 15L RTX 4060 Gaming PC for $779.99
HP Omen 45L RTX 4070 Super Gaming PC for $1,799.99
HP Omen 45L RTX 4060 Ti Gaming PC for $1,499.99
More Lenovo Gaming PC Deals
Lenovo Legion gaming PCs may be the priciest of the big three OEM manufacturers, but they are also generally the highest praised among gamers and reviewers alike. The Legion gaming PCs are highly rated for their build quality. People like the fact that Lenovo does not use proprietary components in their rigs, so they're much easier to upgrade with easily obtainable, off-the-shelf components compared to some other popular prebuilt PC brands. Lenovo gaming rigs generally also utilize solid cooling, especially for the CPU, even if you opt for the base models.
Legion Tower 5 Gen 8 (AMD) with RX 7600 for $929.99
Legion Tower 5i Gen 8 (Intel) with RTX 4060 for $989.99
LOQ Gaming Tower (Intel) with RTX 4060 for $879.99
Things to Consider When Buying a Gaming PC
Which video card is enough for me?
As a general rule of thumb, you want to size your gaming rig based on (1) the resolution, not size, of your monitor and (2) the games you play. A 4K monitor has 2.25 times more pixels than a QHD (2560x1440) monitor and 4 times more pixels than a 1080p (1920x1080) monitor. Simply put, the more pixels on your monitor, the more power your GPU needs. Some games are also more performance intensive than other games, but that's often scalable by tweaking your settings. This is a rough recommendation:
1080p - RTX 3060 to RTX 3060 Ti (RX 6600 XT to RX 6700 XT)
QHD - RTX 3060 Ti to RTX 3080 (RX 6700 XT to RX 6900 XT)
4K - RTX 3080 to RTX 4090 (RX 6900 XT)
If you have a gaming PC already and want to simply upgrade the GPU yourself, check out our picks for the best graphics cards in 2024.
Console vs Gaming PC?
Consoles may have come a long way in terms of graphical improvements, but gaming PCs still remain uncontested when it comes to absolute technical performance. A PS5 or Xbox Series X might be the most powerful consoles ever created, but they seem antiquated compared to the likes of a PC equipped with GeForce RTX 4080 or 4090 video card. Unlike consoles, gaming PCs are also infinitely backwards compatible, and the thousands upon thousands of games available at your disposal via Steam, Xbox Live, Origin, Battle.net, and more puts any console library to shame. Even better, most games that are released for the current gen consoles are often also available for the PC as well, often with even more extensive customization and graphics options.
Gaming PC vs Gaming Laptop?
Gaming laptops have become more and more popular in recent years, but they certainly don't make gaming PCs obsolete. First and foremost, a gaming laptop simply isn't as powerful as an equivalently priced gaming PC. Gaming laptops requires more delicate (and thus more expensive) engineering; because the laptop is such a compact form factor, and gaming components generally draw a lot of power and heat, compromises need to be made. The most powerful gaming laptops are about as powerful as a mid-range gaming PC. The highest end gaming PCs use video cards that are larger and heavier than your average laptop and can draw up to 600W of power all by itself. If you're on the fence between getting one of the other, you will have to weigh your priorities. If you want to know more, check out our in-depth article on the gaming laptop vs gaming desktop dilemma. If price isn't a factor and you're only concerned about getting the best PC for your needs, check out our picks for best gaming PCs of 2024. If you've picked up a new gaming PC, check out the best PC games to play in 2024.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
The PlayStation 5 is one of the best gaming systems you can purchase in 2025, but the console is nowhere near cheap. Starting at $399 for the PS5 and $699 for the PS5 Pro, it is a purchase you will need to plan for. If you want to play titles like Stellar Blade and Astro Bot, it's a purchase worth making. Beyond games, the PS5 is also great for streaming 4K content to your TV. Luckily, you can find some discounts or bundles on PlayStation 5 consoles throughout the year if you know when to look.
As we head into the new year, with the PS5 Pro now on the market, we've compiled the best times you can buy a PlayStation 5 throughout 2025 and beyond. From holidays to sales events, there are quite a few opportunities to pick up the console. Each retailer offers different deals and discounts, but we've outlined the events you need to pay attention to. The best time to buy a PlayStation 5 is when it is discounted or bundled with a free game, so keep these dates in mind to get the best deal possible.
When Should You Buy a PS5?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Overall, your best bet to purchase a discounted PlayStation 5 is Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The annual holidays occur just after Thanksgiving in November, with Black Friday 2025 currently set for November 28. This event mainly refers to in-store deals, with major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and Target participating. Some of the best PlayStation 5 offers will only be available in stores on Black Friday.
The other major sales event alongside Black Friday is Cyber Monday. This event is set annually on the Monday following Black Friday, which is Monday, December 2 this year. Cyber Monday focuses on electronics and is exclusively available online. Following last year, we expect to see major PlayStation 5 deals on this day.
Nowadays, the Black Friday sales event extends from a few weeks before Black Friday to a few weeks after, which ultimately spans the entire holiday season. Major PlayStation 5 bundles are usually up for purchase around this time of year, so you can expect great discounts alongside dozens of discounted PS5 games. If you are operating on a budget for the PlayStation 5 consoles and games together, Black Friday is the best time of year by far to pick up a console.
Amazon Prime Day
Prime Day is also an excellent time to purchase a PlayStation 5 every year. Alongside this, many PS5 games are likely to be priced low as part of the sale, so you can pick up more games as well. Other retailers besides Amazon will also hold sales around Prime Day, so this only increases the chance that a PlayStation 5 deal will be available. Sometimes, this means an extended 4th of July sale or a surprise weekend sale. If you're not in a rush to purchase a PS5, Prime Day is a great time to buy one.
Around Major Releases
Sony tends to make console bundles for some of its major releases. This also extends to third-party exclusives like Final Fantasy XVI. Sony tends to discount these PlayStation 5 bundles around the releases of major titles, as it incentivizes customers to pick up a system and check out the new game. Additionally, you can find these PS5 bundles on sale once the included game has been out for a few months, as Sony looks to clear inventory of the bundle. Back in 2023, the biggest bundle available came with a copy of Spider-Man 2, while 2024 PS5 bundles came with NBA 2K25.
Throughout the Summer
Another great time to buy a PlayStation 5 is summer. Following the major gaming events like Summer Game Fest, Sony and other companies usually hold sales events to celebrate the summer This includes deals on games, accessories, controllers, and consoles, which includes PlayStation 5. The PlayStation Summer Sale usually starts around July and runs through August, making it a great time to buy video games as well.
Late summer is also a great time, as retailers tend to begin preparations for the Fall season. Inventory on older console models is cleared, leading the way for new bundles. PlayStation 5 consoles and other items will likely be available discounted at this time.
Should You Get a PlayStation 5 Pro Instead?
Nowadays, consoles tend to last anywhere from six to eight years. The PlayStation 5 released in November of 2020, meaning we're already over five years into the cycle of this generation. As such, it's worth noting that you may want to think about purchasing the PS5 Pro instead.
The PlayStation 5 Pro, a new Sony console featuring better hardware capabilities, was released in November 2024. The PS5 Pro release led to discounts on the existing PS5, including a $70 discount on the PS5 Slim over the holidays. If you're happy with the capabilities and game releases on the PS5, keeping an eye out for more price drops is probably one of the most budget-friendly ways to grab a new console. If you want a console that's prepped and ready for the next generation of games, it may be worth waiting for Black Friday discounts and bundles on the PS5 Pro.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium. His favorite series include Xeno and Final Fantasy.
Gaming monitors are one of the most essential pieces of any setup. While you can have a decked-out gaming PC, the display is what truly allows PC performance to be showcased. There are hundreds of brands and thousands of products to choose from, each offering unique features and capabilities. Some of the most important features of a gaming monitor to look for include screen size, refresh rate, response time, and resolution.
As you might expect, the market can range from under $100 to over $2,000. With such a vast landscape of options, it can be challenging to find the right time to buy a really high-quality gaming monitor. We've compiled the best times to purchase a gaming monitor below, so take a look and explore when you should aim to buy a new display.
Best Times to Buy a Gaming Monitor
Black Friday and Cyber Monday
While it might not be surprising, Black Friday is the best time of the year to buy a new gaming monitor. This is the lowest we'll see monitors across the board, with massive savings in store. These deals also extend over to Cyber Monday, which has an online focus on deals. You can expect to see both retailers and manufacturers offer some of the lowest prices all year for the big sales event.
Many of the gaming monitors on sale during Black Friday are perfect for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Be sure to pay close attention to whether or not the monitor has HDMI 2.1 support to see if its compatible or not. Last year, we saw dozens of monitors that were excellent choices for both PC and console gaming.
Beginning of the Year
Like most technology, gaming monitor manufacturers often discount dozens of models around the New Year. This is largely due to new inventory incoming in Q1, but this allows for you to score great deals on some of the best monitors out there. Often, these discounts can range from a few hundred dollars to even over $500 off, depending on the model.
The best place to find deals like these are often either on Amazon or directly from the manufacturer. Companies like Asus and Acer often discount monitors directly on their own storefronts around this time of year.
Holiday Weekends
Major holiday weekends like Labor Day and Memorial Day are excellent times to purchase a new gaming monitor. Alongside all the video game deals, you can save big on all kinds of monitors, even units with 4K displays. Retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy will each tend to offer select monitors on sale. As you might expect, these sell out very quickly, so it's best to be on the top of your game if you aim to grab a monitor around one of these holidays. The next big sales event for 2024 is Labor Day and you can already start taking advantage of some Labor Day sales right now.
Amazon Prime Day
Amazon's Prime Day events will be another opportunity to save big on gaming monitors, as Amazon will offer prices close to the level of Black Friday. During Prime Day 2024, there were many great budget monitor options even under $100.
Spontaneous Sales
Throughout the year, retailers like Best Buy host spontaneous sales on select monitor models that only run for a weekend or so. This can be a great time to buy a gaming monitor, but you have to play close attention to the deals. For that, we recommend staying tuned to the IGN Deals account with notifications on so you never miss a deal, as they can come and go in the blink of an eye.
New Gaming Monitors Release Constantly
It's no secret that monitor manufacturers release new models constantly. Often, you can find multiple new releases each year, which can make scoring a deal on a new monitor challenging. We recommend that you wait until either Black Friday or New Year's before purchasing a new monitor, espeically if you're looking to buy an expensive ultrawide monitor. Then, you are getting a great deal no matter the model that you may choose to buy.
Selecting a monitor that works for you is also not easy, but you must assses your setup to determine your needs. If you have a budget gaming PC that is only managing to run games at 1080p, you likely should not aim to buy a 1440p or 4K monitor. However, if you have a powerful PC or PS5 that can output games at 4K resolution, it's best to hold off and wait for a deal on a high-end monitor.
Top Affordable Monitors to Choose from Right Now
If you don't want to wait for a major sale to pick up a new gaming monitor, we've curated some of the best budget options that don't require a gaming monitor deal to save money on.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
Lego has announced a collaboration with Netflix to release a series of One Piece Lego sets "coming soon."
The One Piece collaboration was announced by Lego with a short teaser trailer, below, showing off Luffy's iconic straw hat in Lego form. No release date was announced, but the "collection" will be revealed in the coming month, and it's otherwise promised to release "soon."
These sets will be based on the Netflix live adaptation of the beloved manga series, and not it directly or its anime. That being said, the Netflix show perfectly recreated myriad elements of the source material so any Lego versions should be fairly close to all the above.
One Piece fans are invited to "follow the action and embark on their own grand adventures with multiple new Lego sets, inspired by some of the most iconic scenes straight out of the East Blue," Lego said.
"These sets will feature the main crew as seen in the show for the first time in Lego Minifigure form, transporting fans into the heart of the action featuring settings and scenes pulled straight from the screen."
Netflix vice president of consumer products Josh Simon emphasized an attention to detail, too. "Through every detail of the design process, we've worked to meticulously create a collection of playsets that will give fans new ways to live out their own epic voyages into the Grand Line one special Lego brick at a time," he said.
Both the standard 4K and steelbooks are set to release on April 15 this year. Head to the links below to get your preorders in fast.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K Shadow Steelbook Preorder
This steelbook features Shadow speeding front and center with a red lightning bolt pattern around him. It comes with a 4K UHD version of the film, a Blu-ray, and a digital copy. Again, this is an Amazon exclusive steelbook, so if it's caught your eye you'll want to get your preorders in quickly at the retailer. It's available for $44.99.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K Sonic Steelbook Preorder
The design of this steelbook is similar to the one with Shadow but in blue and featuring Sonic on the move instead. This version also comes with a 4K, Blu-ray, and digital copy of the film. You can preorder it from both Amazon and Walmart right now for $44.99.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Preorder
If you're just looking to scoop up the standard 4K of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, you can preorder it right now at Walmart for $35.99. Unfortunately, it's sold out at the moment at Amazon. Similar to the steelbooks, you'll get a 4K UHD version of the film, a Blu-ray, and a digital copy.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 4K Special Features
Commentary By Director Jeff Fowler and the Voice of Sonic Ben Schwartz — Embark on an adventure with the director and star!
Sonic Family Fun — The Sonic cast and crew share how they've become like a family over the years.
Enter Shadow — Keanu Reeves and other cast members talk about his portrayal of fan-favorite character Shadow the Hedgehog.
Robotnik Family Reunion: Ivo and Gerald — Jim Carrey and the Sonic family discuss how the characters of Ivo and Gerald Robotnik were brought to life.
For the Love of Sonic: Directing a Trilogy — With a background in visual effects and animation, director Jeff Fowler shares how directing the Sonic films has been a dream come true.
The Fox, the Echidna, and the Hedgehog — Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails, and Idris Elba as Knuckles invite us into the recording booth.
Live-Action Lunacy: Acting Opposite Puppets — Find out what it's like to act alongside life-sized puppets!
From the Cryo-Tank to London: The World of Sonic — Explore the production designs for the film's many spectacular locations.
Team Sonic vs. Shadow — The team behind the epic battle sequences details how the action is choreographed for maximum realism.
A Very Sonic Christmas — Team Sonic helps Santa Claus save Christmas!
Gag Reel — Laugh along with Team Sonic and these hilarious outtakes!
Deleted Scenes
In our review of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 writer A.A. Dowd said, "Better jokes, better imagery, and two (!) inspired comic performances by Jim Carrey give this Sonic sequel an edge on its overly kiddy predecessors." If you're curious when and where you can stream Sonic the Hedgehog 3 instead, have a look at our guide on how to watch Sonic the Hedgehog 3. And if you'd like to know more about upcoming physical releases in general, check out our breakdown of upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming PC, buying one of the best graphics cards can end up being one of the most expensive components. With that in mind, sometimes it’s worth holding off and waiting for the best time to buy a new GPU; but when is that?
As Nvidia and AMD release the next generation of GPUs, we break down some of the best times to buy a graphics card every year.
This might seem obvious to some, but if you play games that are less GPU intensive such as Roblox and Minecraft, you might want to consider steering away from a high-end, next-generation RTX 5090 card and focusing your budget on something a little less… monstrous.
If you’re on a budget, and you don’t need a NASA-certified graphics card, the best option is to look at older budget graphics cards, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600 or Nvidia’s equivalent offering, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050.
If you don’t plan to play GPU-intensive games, or you’re a lover of indie games, you could consider a cheaper option. Buying the latest GPU for these games is like bringing a nuke to a knife fight, whereas a budget GPU would offer better value over a high-end GPU that the games you play most likely won’t fully utilize.
In many cases, games are more CPU-intensive than they are GPU-intensive. You might be better off looking at the best CPUs to upgrade your gaming PC instead.
But if you’re looking to rock some ray tracing eye candy, you’re going to need to splash out on something a little more powerful. Buying the previous generation of GPUs is often a great way to pick up a bargain.
Sales Events Such as Black Friday and Prime Day
As Tobey Maguire once said, with great power comes great responsibility. While I’m fairly sure he wasn’t talking about the price of GPUs, it does ring true in this case. If you want a powerful GPU, be responsible with your money and wait for the right sale to come along.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Prime Day are perfect for picking up a range of bargain graphics cards. Not only can you find the previous generations at a more affordable price, but you can often find the latest cards at a price that won't require a second mortgage to buy.
While historically sales such as Black Friday and Prime Day have seen some pretty good discounts on GPUs, it’s not guaranteed that the exact graphics card you want will be on sale. If you want a great price you might need to be open to buying a slightly different model, or a GPU from a different manufacturer than what you were hoping for.
Wait for the Next Generation of GPUs to Drop
If you’ve already got a GPU in mind, but it currently costs too much, you could wait for the next generation of GPUs to be announced. Oh wait, that's right now! Nvidia just announced their 50-series graphics cards, with the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 set to release on January 30. Meanwhile, AMD's RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT are set to hit the market in March.
As soon as a new line of graphics cards is announced, most retailers tend to drop their prices in an attempt to make room for the next-generation GPUs. Once the new range of GPUs is officially released, you will often find that the price of last-gen GPUs often goes down again. So if you've been holding for the something from Nvidia's 40-series, like an RTX 4090 or RTX 4070 Super, expect prices to go down throughout 2025.
Of course, if you've decided you need a next-gen GPU that just released, you’re back to square one and will need to wait for a sale.
Are You Going to Bottleneck Your Machine?
When looking for the best time to buy a new GPU, it’s not just the price you need to consider, it’s your current build too. For example, if you’re sporting an Intel Core i5, you’re not going to want to pair that with a beefy AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, as you’re more than likely going to cause a bottleneck.
You might also want to check that your current power supply is up to the task of powering a next-gen GPU. The best power supplies should not only have enough wattage to power your new GPU, but they should also have a sufficient rating to ensure better performance. When it comes to PSUs, there’s no such thing as overkill, a gold or platinum PSU will offer much better efficiency.
When you’re looking to upgrade your graphics card, you essentially want to make sure that no other parts are seriously outdated. If even one component is too far behind the rest of your gaming computer, you could be causing a potential bottleneck.
Is This GPU Overkill Right Now?
The last thing to consider when thinking about the best time to upgrade your GPU is the gaming market. For example, when a new engine is released, such as the fairly recent release of Unreal Engine 5, you will likely find yourself waiting a while before games come out that will push the limits of your next-gen GPU. Nvidia's RTX 4090 features DLSS 4, but only some games will be able to take advantage of the AI upscaling. You can check out the full list of DLSS 4 launch titles here.
Top Budget GPU's You Can Buy Right Now
If you're ready to upgrade sooner rather than later, but aren't looking to spend a fortune on the newest generation of cards, we highly recommend the Intel Arc B580. Check out more recommendations from our full guide to the best budget graphics cards on the market right now.
In a new interview with Google Cloud Japan, Kazuki Abe, a technical director at Capcom who has worked on huge titles like Monster Hunter: World and Exoprimal, explained how the company is experimenting with implementing AI in its game development processes.
“One of the most time-consuming and labor intensive parts of game development is coming up with hundreds of thousands of unique ideas,” Abe explained (via Automaton). He added that designs for things like televisions require their own unique designs, logos, and shape. “Including unused ones, we ended up having to come up with hundreds of thousands of ideas,” he continued.
Multiple proposals are needed for the thousands to tens of thousands of these kinds of objects per game, and each proposal includes illustrations needed to communicate the idea to the art director and artists as well as text, Abe explained.
Seeing room for efficiency improvements, Abe created a system where generative AI could read various game design documents and an AI could output the ideas, enhancing development speed and efficiency, delivering feedback for itself in the process and further refining output.
His prototype, which taps into multiple AI models such as Google Gemini Pro, Gemini Flash, and Imagen has apparently received positive feedback from internal development teams. The result of implementing the AI model would ultimately “reduce costs significantly” compared to doing them all by hand, while also improving quality.
Right now, Capcom’s experimentation with AI models appears to be limited to just this system, leaving other aspects of game development, such as ideation, gameplay, programming, and character design firmly in the hands of humans.
Sayem is a freelancer based in the UK, covering tech & hardware. You can get in touch with him at @sayem.zone on Bluesky.
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