Hot on the heels of the global success of Marvel Rivals and with other popular live-service games like Naraka: Bladepoint and Once Human under its belt, NetEase has turned its attention to the hero shooter genre with FragPunk. New internal development team Bad Guitar Studio is made up of young, hardcore FPS fans, and after joining them for a one-hour play session where we tried a new character and map revealed exclusively in this preview, the team’s eye for detail is clear to see.

FragPunk’s main game mode is the 5v5 Shard Clash mode. On its surface, this mode resembles your typical Overwatch-like hero shooter skirmish, but it also pulls from a variety of influences to mix up the gameplay. The rounds in this mode are closer to the bomb-defusal objectives of Counter Strike, with one team planting bombs at specified locations and the other defending, with relatively small arenas that keep rounds tight and focused.

As with any hero shooter, players can choose from a selection of characters – named Lancers – who each have a selection of unique skills, meaning plenty to learn in terms of individual character preferences and team makeup. For our session, we tried the newly unveiled character Chum, a stone robot who is accompanied by a mechanical pet angler fish named Chomper. In addition to using the game’s arsenal of satisfying guns, Chum can toss projectiles similar to sticky mines and smoke grenades, as well as sending Chomper out as support. Chomper can track and bite enemies for multiple low-damage attacks, essentially like a walking turret, or can be modified with pet treats that make it explode on contact or trail a thick smokescreen in its wake, adding several strategic layers that felt fun to mix up.

And being made of stone, Chum is also a strong defence character, making him a great all-round option for newcomers.

Many other Lancer abilities are not only offensive but defensive or tactical – walls for cover, traps, speed boosts, skills that highlight enemies on the map, and so on. We tried several Lancers, and found a varied effect on gameplay. Using Nitro, with her directly-controllable four-legged drone and gun turrets, we were able to rack up multiple assists; while Axon was another favourite thanks to his more aggressive selection of skills, including projectile bombs and a cool guitar-gun. In the Lancer selection screen, you can watch a short video clip for each ability to help you quickly grasp what they do.

But what really sets FragPunk apart is its Shard Cards system. At the start of each round, each team is randomly assigned a set of three cards, which they can swap in and out, each of which changes the rules of the round for your entire team. Some are simple stat percentage boosts or buffs, while others do things like increasing the size of your enemies’ heads, decreasing your own or equipping helmets, affecting the difficulty of headshots for that round. Others still are much more unusual, and completely change the gameplay.

For example, one Shard Card gave our team a kind of proximity detector so that we got an aural and visual signal whenever an enemy was nearby, while another slowly regenerated our health gauge, both of which gave us a welcome advantage. Some cards affect the environment, such as shrouding the map in fog that adds tension as enemies are harder to spot. Others have active effects – press the Z key to swap health bars with an enemy, or to swap gear with them, or to jump into a parallel world where you can essentially run unseen to a new location and then pop back into the fight to ambush your foes.

It’s a lot to take in. You only have around 30 seconds to finalise your hand for each round, and at first each of the 150+ cards will be new to you. “We deliberately made the rule for each card as simple as possible so that they can be quick to understand,” Creative Director Xin Chang told us. “We also made the description text for each card as short as possible, and used visual design to make its effects more obvious.”

After a few rounds, the Shard Cards system began to make sense, and really paid off in terms of making each round feel different. We were forced to engage differently with every round, rethinking strategies and responding not only to our team’s current hand but also the enemy team’s.

Interestingly, the ruleset-shuffling Shard Cards were inspired not only by other videogames, but also by sports. The development team’s building has a large gymnasium with facilities for activities such as basketball, table tennis and badminton, its walls adorned with photos of the developers in competition.

Chang explained, “I play soccer and basketball, so I like games with a two-team system. I also watch a lot of NBA, and they often make changes to the rules to keep the sport interesting. Based on that idea, I also wanted to have a system of tweaking the rules in our game.”

Sports also influenced the team’s approach to FragPunk’s maps. Level Designer An Yuan added, “In level design, we divide the map into areas that are good for attack or defence phases, so that the player has to keep moving. It’s kind of like basketball, where you have different spatial design around the court that suits the different roles of the players. We applied that concept in our game, and also in the Shard Cards, which can turn a good hiding place into a bad one.”

FragPunk also features a Duel mode. When a match ends in a tie, it changes to a one-on-one showdown, a little bit like the mano a mano face-offs in Call of Duty: Warzone’s Gulag, but inspired by soccer’s penalty shootouts. Each player takes their turn in the queue for a series of short and sharp winner-stays-on rounds in small but vertically layered arenas. With all our teammates spectating during our turn, we totally felt the pressure, making for a fun and different tie-breaker mini-game. It’s so cool, the devs even added it as a separate standalone mode called Duel Master.

Each map has interactive gimmicks that players can use strategically to gain the upper hand. First, we tried the newly unveiled map Dongtian. This is the Hangzhou, China-based dev team’s stab at an Asian-flavoured map, and its two bomb sites can be rotated by players for tactical advantage. When the switch in the middle of the map is activated by a player, the core cover at the bomb site rotates, altering strategies for both the offensive and defensive teams.

“We want to use these rotating walls to switch the edge between the attack team and the defence team,” explained Yuan. “So we encourage players to fight for that core area to maintain their edge or get the edge for themselves.”

Other maps have their own gimmicks – BlackMarket’s manually controlled bridge allows players to change the map’s layout and even pull the ground from under their opponents’ feet; Akhet has an underground river that allows sneaky players to move directly from the middle area to a bomb site; and Tundra has magic portals that instantly zap players between gates to outmanoeuvre the other team. It was fun to explore these maps, and clearly players who take the time to learn them properly will gain an advantage.

Dongtian is the home setting for the Lancer Kismet. Narrative Director Wenhe Fu explained, “The game has a multiverse concept, which allows us to have each character come from quite a different universe. We’ll take some time in future phases to introduce those background details to players.”

Built into a mountain and dotted with ancient wooden temple buildings, mystical statues and wizened trees with gracefully warped trunks, Dongtian’s Eastern aesthetic brings a smart visual twist to FragPunks’ colourful world.

Art Director Yiming Li told us, “We wanted to blend ancient buildings that look like they could come from China with near-future science and technology elements, as well as some religious elements. While each map will have its own distinctive cultural features, we want them all to fit into the game’s overall sci-fi feeling. It’s like in Star Wars: Each of the civilisations are very different, but when they are viewed as a whole, they also exist under a harmonious sci-fi setting.”

And that brings us to FragPunk’s visuals. This is a really gorgeous game. The punk-influenced and sci-fi-tinged fluorescent aesthetic is rich and appealing, and its kill animations are punctuated by dazzling bursts of colour. Its maps are extremely readable, and player characters pop, making it easy to follow the action. Even its menus are pretty to look at, with the flashy presentation you’d expect from a Persona game or Street Fighter 6, with bold layouts accented by graffiti scribbles. It really stands out in the hero shooter space.

FragPunk will be free to play, with a small selection of Lancers available at the start so that players can learn them gradually, unlocking more as they go through in-game currency accrued through play or paid microtransactions. Other optional purchases will be strictly cosmetic. We’ll have to wait until launch to see how the service side pans out – other NetEase games like Marvel Rivals and Naraka: Bladepoint have seen complaints about pricing, but that aside they have managed to keep players satisfied, so hopefully that’s a good sign.

In addition to the Shard Clash and Duel modes we tried, FragPunk will feature a mix of modes at or after launch that are targeted at both hardcore and casual players, including one where all players are forced to use the same Lancer, or melee weapons only, and so on. The development team is apparently largely made up of pro-level players, but it’s clear they have also taken steps to make the game accessible to newbies and even streamers and their viewers.

Here's a great deal on a compact wall charger that's a perfect match for the Nintendo Switch and Apple iPhone 16. Amazon has the tiny Anker Nano 30W USB Type-C wall charger for only $12.99 after you apply coupon code "0UDQ9XZX". That's 40% off the original $23 list price, and you don't need to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of this deal.

Anker 30W USB Type-C Nano Wall Charger for $12.99

If you're on the hunt for the best Android phone, you're diving into a wide world of options that go well beyond just iPhone alternatives. You can find folding behemoths that blur the line between smartphone and tablet, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, or find devices that go all-in on gaming performance and features with extra buttons and air-cooled components. The Android market is still where some of the most experimentation is being done, and there's no shortage of compelling phones – including the new Galaxy S25 lineup that's available to order. Quite a few of these phones can even prove fairly competitive on value, so you don't have to spend upwards of $1,000 just to get a great phone.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Android Phones:

I've personally been using Android phones since 2012, when I picked up what was both my first Android phone and first (and not my last) 3D phone. Since then, I've used and tested Android phones for years, going hands-on with the ultimate budget options, the first 5G phone (a Motorola model with an attachment that turned it into a 5G phone), gaming phones with wild gimmicks and some with tamer features, folding phones, flipping phones, and even twisting phones.

I've tested what Samsung and Google consider some of their best, and I've seen what some of the lesser-known alternatives have done to keep pace or surpass them. All this is to say: I've been around the block with Android phones, as have many of my colleagues here who have contributed their fair share of first-hand testing. So if you're looking for a great Android phone, we've got you covered.

What you'll find here are not just the best Android phones, but some of the best smartphones around. You can go with the best of the best, topping out features and quality, or find a budget score that goes above and beyond for a device at its price. And if nothing quite fits the bill, be sure to check back often. After all, the Android market moves fast, so you won't be left waiting a year to see what the next round of devices offers (unlike iPhone users).

Contributions by Jackie Thomas, Danielle Abraham, and Georgie Peru.

1. OnePlus 13

Best Android Smartphone

2. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Best Foldable Android Phone

3. Poco X5 5G

Best Budget Android Phone

4. RedMagic 10 Pro

Best Gaming Android Phone

5. Google Pixel 8

Best Mid-Range Android Phone

We know the Pixel 8 isn’t the latest of the bunch; I even reviewed the Pixel 9 myself. But here’s the thing: It’s still a great phone, and the fact that it’s a year older means it’s easy to snag at a much lower price than it started with. There’s little reason to consider the Pixel 8a, for instance, when you can jump up to the real McCoy for just $100 more.

Google brought some great upgrades with the Pixel 8, including the new Tensor G3 SoC, which ran faster and (critically) cooler than its predecessor. Google also shrunk down the phone slightly, making it a bit more friendly for folks who appreciate a more pocketable device for easy one-handed use. It’s a great little phone.

The 6.2-inch display means business. Small though it may be, it offers a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and boasts a 2,000-nit peak brightness. Games, movies, and just about anything else look great on the display, and it’s matched by a decent set of stereo speakers.

Perhaps the key thing making the Pixel 8 an exceptional value is that it comes with seven years of updates to the operating system, security patches, and features. It may not get every new feature that Google launches in the future, but it will at least not be left with the security vulnerabilities that can plague outdated devices.

A key highlight of the Pixel 8 is its camera system. It offers an excellent main sensor that can tackle dark environments and make the most of quality lighting by providing sharp, richly colored photos. The ultra-wide isn’t quite as impressive, but had a very wide field-of-view, letting you capture a lot in one shot. Getting any great cameras on a phone for $500 is a pretty good deal, so getting one backed by a modest ultrawide doesn’t hurt.

What to Look for in an Android Phone

Making the final decision on a phone purchase is not easy, so we've helped narrow down what to look for.

Storage space on phones is crucial. If filming videos, playing games, or downloading loads of music is important, only a few (and increasingly fewer) phones come with a Micro SD slot to expand storage. That means you'll have to spend more to get more, and that's if a phone offers it. Some of our picks have up to 1TB of storage, which should suit most people. Of course, you can always store files to different cloud services, opening more space on your phone.

RAM is crucial to a phone’s operating system. Having more RAM means you can run more applications at the same time. For standard operation, 4GB RAM is enough, but additional RAM is necessary for heavy gaming and app use. All of our picks have at least 6GB of RAM, so you can get to gaming and scrolling with little worry.

Finally, the phone’s processor is essential for your device to run smoothly. The number of cores and clock speed generally determine how quickly a phone can run processes and functions. Snapdragon processors are often used in Android phones. All of our picks use them except for the Google Pixel devices, which use Google’s Tensor chips. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Tensor G4 are currently the best processors out there.

Best Android Phones FAQ

What is the difference between an Android phone and a smartphone?

Android phones are just a type of smartphone. Ever since the iPhone started the 'smartphone' trend back in 2007, Google has been competing with its own smartphone OS, Android. An Android phone is just a smartphone that's running Google's Android operating system, and with a few exceptions, anything that's running Android is also a smartphone.

Mark Knapp is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry with bylines at PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark on BlueSky at @Techn0Mark.

Once again, it’s time for me to level up your library without breaking your bank account. Today is all about bringing legendary adventures, pulse-pounding action, and some deep cuts into game prices. Personally, I’m all about a sub-15-buck Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered, as it’s basically the Ghostbusters 3 we should have been on a movie screen. I will also extol the brilliance of Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut to anyone who will listen (especially when its price has been katana sliced in half).

Aussie bdays for notable games

- Halo Wars (X360) 2009. Get

- Killzone 2 (PS3) 2009. eBay

- Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS) 2009. eBay

- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3,X360) 2013. Get

Contents

• Nintendo
• PC
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• LEGO
• Snacks

Harry Potter is one of those franchises that has now infiltrated pretty much every medium. There are endless Harry Potter gifts for every type of fan out there, but if your specific interest is in puzzles, there's some serious variety available to you. Just a quick search for "Harry Potter puzzles" will drown you in options from various brands that can take a while to sort through.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Harry Potter Puzzles

As a fan of both Harry Potter and puzzles, I have taken it upon myself to help you find the right Potter puzzle for you. Below I've gathered some of my favorite adult jigsaw puzzles with a Harry Potter theme, as well as some great options for kids. I've also included an awesome model kit that makes for an exciting 3D puzzling experience.

Marauder's Map Puzzle

The Marauder's Map is one of the most recognizable items from Harry Potter lore. From Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, this puzzle looks like the full map from the movie once it's been assembled. The puzzle itself is from The Noble Collection, which is known for making some of the highest quality officially licensed wand and Harry Potter prop replicas. You can see what the fully assembled puzzle looks like below:

Hogwart's Express Puzzle

Razer's new 2025 lineup of gaming laptops are now up for preorder. The Razer Blade 16 and Razer Blade 18 can now be ordered directly from Razer.com and will be equipped with the upcoming Intel and Ryzen processors (depending on which display size you get) as well as the anticipated RTX 5000-series mobile GPUs in three variants: RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090. Preordering will also get you some bonus accessories depending on the model.

Razer Blade laptops are well known for their impeccable build quality. The chassis is built from a single piece of aluminum and is designed to be exceptionally thin and light for a gaming laptop. In order to get away with the svelte form factor, Razer employs its own proprietary cooling design which incorporates a vacuum sealed, liquid filled, copper vapor chamber to effectively whisk away the heat. Much like Apple MacBook Pros, a lot of engineering goes into a Razer Blade laptop, which is why they command a premium price compared to other mainstream brands.

Razer Blade 18

There can be no doubt that The Hunger Games is one of the best young adult series' out there. There have been a total of four Hunger Games books so far and all of them have been made into movies. Not only that, there is a new book on its way next month called Sunrise on the Reaping and it is already being made into a film. Suzanne Collins doesn't miss.

Similar to other popular young adult novels, The Hunger Games has been slowly getting the illustrated treatment. Just last year the first illustrated edition was launched featuring art from Nico Delort. The illustrations themselves are gorgeous and detailed, making the first illustrated edition a worthy collectors item for any fan of the series. There is also already an illustrated edition of the second book, Catching Fire, in the works and both of them are currently on sale on Amazon at their lowest-ever prices.

The Hunger Games Illustrated Editions Deals on Amazon

HBO is moving full steam ahead with its new Harry Potter TV show and finally seems to have at least one casting: John Lithgow will be the new Professor Dumbledore.

It’s been reported that HBO has been on the lookout for a new Dumbledore for some time now, and it appears that search has ended. In an interview with ScreenRant, Lithgow confirmed that he accepted the role which he says will define the “last chapter” of his life.

“Well, it came as a total surprise to me. I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I’m afraid.”

He adds, “But I’m very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That’s why it’s been such a hard decision. I’ll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I’ve said yes.”

This is the first casting confirmation for the upcoming Harry Potter TV show, and it isn’t technically official yet either as HBO and Warner Bros. have not confirmed Lithgow’s casting.

HBO’s plan is to re-adapt all of JK Rowling’s books for TV with an all-new cast playing familiar characters like Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and the rest of the Hogwarts school. Rowling will serve as executive producer alongside Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts.

Despite Lithgow’s verbal confirmation, the fact the Harry Potter reboot series still doesn’t have a full cast likely means the show is still some ways away from production.

Lithgow is a veteran actor for film and television, perhaps best known for his role as Dick Solomon on the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. However, he achieved critical acclaim and won an Emmy for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the first season of The Crown on Netflix.

Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.

Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is reportedly looking to step down by the end of 2025.

As reported by Puck News, the veteran film producer and Lucasfilm head is looking to retire at the end of her contract this year. Additionally, Puck claims Kennedy previously considered retiring in 2024, but decided to hold off on making a decision. It should be noted that Variety reports that a source close to Kennedy has called Puck’s story “pure speculation," but The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Puck's story also.

Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012 and served as a handpicked co-chair to run the studio alongside George Lucas. Once Lucas departed, Kennedy was promoted to president and has been running the Star Wars stable ever since.

Her tenure includes overseeing a new sequel trilogy that comprises Star Wars Episodes 7-9, as well as the start of Star Wars’ streaming era that include The Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and more. While some films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens” have proven to be blockbuster hits, other films have proven more divisive with movies like Solo: A Star Wars Story losing money at the box office.

While unconfirmed, Kennedy’s departure would raise further questions over a string of announced and rumored projects like new movies from James Mangold, Taika Waititi, and Donald Glover. There’s also an untitled Rey movie that was announced but is taking time to fully materialize.

The next slate of Star Wars projects includes The Mandalorian & Grogu, and a new Star Wars trilogy from Simon Kinberg.

Prior to her work at Lucasfilm, Kennedy co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall. She has produced iconic films like E.T., Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and other 90s classics earning her eight Academy Award nominations for Best Picture.

Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor.

(Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images for Disney)

The iPhone 16 series is here, and while it has plenty of upgrades over past generations, the year-to-year changes don’t always feel very exciting. It’s natural to see what other options are out there, and let me tell you, there are plenty. I’ve been testing smartphones for almost a decade, and I’ve seen my fair share of handsets that can compete with Apple’s iPhones, and quite a few bring new capabilities to the table well before Apple does – just look at folding phones. I’ve also tested iPhones, so I know and respect the qualities that have kept them at the forefront of the market for so long. That knowledge just makes it that much easier to see where an alternative feels right.

For a lot of people, going for an iPhone isn’t going to be the most sensible thing. Even the lowest-cost option in each new iPhone lineup tends to be on the more expensive side of the market – take the newly announced iPhone 16e, for example, which is meant to be the budget option and still starts at $599. The rest of the 16s are significantly more expensive, starting at $799. Thankfully, many of the best qualities of iPhones, short of iOS and the powerful Apple chipsets, are available elsewhere. There is no shortage of quality iPhone alternatives on the Android side of the market.

TL;DR – These Are the Best iPhone Alternatives in 2025:

By widening your scope, you can find next-level camera systems, designs that go toe-to-toe with Apple’s best, unique form factors that Apple has so far shied away from, more budget-friendly options, and niche models with an emphasis on gaming. There’s plenty to choose from, and rather than just deciding which tier of iPhone is right for you, you can decide which blend of features, build quality, performance, and price fit your needs. Whether you’re looking for the best phone around that’s just not an iPhone or want a device that can match the photographic prowess Apple is known for, you’ll find a good alternative here.

Contributions by Georgie Peru and Rudie Obias

1. OnePlus 13

Best All-Around iPhone Alternative

2. Google Pixel 9 Pro

Best Cameras in an iPhone Alternative

3. OnePlus 12R

Best Budget iPhone Alternative

4. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

Best Foldable iPhone Alternative

5. RedMagic 10 Pro

Best iPhone Alternative for Gaming

What to Look for in an iPhone Alternative in 2025

While the iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand, more than half of the phones on the planet are Android devices. People seem to like Android’s open platform instead of Apple’s rigid walled garden. Android gives its users the opportunity to customize their experience with various themes, wallpapers, launchers, and apps.

Heck, there are more apps available to download through the Google Play Store than the Apple App Store. In fact, you’re not even limited to the Google Play Store for apps. You can use the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Galaxy Store, Aptoide, and others for different types of app utilities and experiences.

With more and more people flocking to Android, it may seem tough to pick a great iPhone alternative, but here's what to consider.

Phone Size and Design

One of the best things about iPhone alternatives is they come in various shapes and sizes. Apple is pretty set with making phones that are about 6 inches in size. However, you can find Android phones that are bigger at 7 inches or smaller at 4 inches. It’s really up to you on which size fits your hands better, or how much screen real estate you want.

In fact, there are a number of smartphones that are foldable like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip line. You can choose to have a small design in your pocket or bag, but then flip them open for a full-sized screen. Now that’s something you definitely can’t do with an iPhone.

Storage Capacity

For the most part, Android smartphones start out with 128GB of on-board storage, which is the same as the iPhone 16. However, there are many Android phones that are built-in with a microSD card expansion slot for even more storage up to an additional 1TB.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to Android is you can get more for less. This means you can get more storage options, memory, power, screen sizes, features, megapixels, and cameras than your average iPhone for less money.

Price

Speaking of money, Android smartphones are often less expensive than iPhones, with prices starting as low as $50 for bottom-of-the-barrel picks like the BLU C5L. There’s no shortage of cheap Android phones out there. However, you can get a good quality and wallet-friendly smartphone like the Poco X5 5G starting at $220. Compare this to Apple’s cheapest phone, now the iPhone 16e, which starts at $599.

On the high end, you can get a totally maxed out Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 with 1TB of on-board storage for a whopping $2,160. Additionally, if you consider that you can get more features with an Android phone than an iPhone, then you’re actually getting a better deal.

Overall, if you’re looking for an iPhone alternative, there are plenty of great Android smartphones out there for different types of people and use cases. For most people, however, the OnePlus 13 or Google Pixel 9 Pro are the best picks. Samsung has the premium design for speed and style, while Google has the better camera for sharper and more natural photos.

How Often Should You Upgrade Your Phone?

There are new Android phones coming out every year, but you don't need to be upgrading to a new phone every year. Now that smartphones have become a lot smarter, you really only need to upgrade ever two or three years to avoid falling behind in terms of processing power and battery life. All-in-all, if your current phone still works fine for everything you need it to do, there's no need to upgrade.

Mark Knapp is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry with bylines at PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark on Twitter @Techn0Mark or BlueSky at @Techn0Mark.

Amazon is offering an Apple Watch Series 10 42mm model for only $329 and the bigger 46mm model for $359. This matches the lowest prices we saw during Black Friday. If you own an iPhone, the Apple Watch is indisputably the best smartwatch for you. It's stylish, boasts excellent build quality, excels as both a fitness tracker and smart watch, and complements your iPhone better than any other watch brand.

Apple Watch Series 10 From $329

There was a time, less than ten years ago, that adult LEGO builders comprised a niche interest group. LEGO catered to these AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) with occasional Creator Expert sets like modular buildings; by and large, these sets were the exception and not the rule.

But over the past decade, LEGO has done an unprecedented job of rebranding itself. Today, "automatic binding bricks" are no longer just a toy for kids—they are a mainstream hobby and pastime for teens and adults too. LEGO still makes original modular buildings, of course, but the company also makes scaled replicas of movie props, working amusement park rides, luxury car facsimiles, and more. The point of these sets was not to "play" with them—it was to build something fit for display—appropriate to stand at and appreciate from a distance.

Although expansion across LEGO products is great to see, the additional detail does come at a higher price borne from a higher piece count, not to mention licensing fees for the sets using third party themes—such as Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Nintendo, and Minecraft. Although retail prices can make some sets really pricey to the average shopper, it doesn’t mean LEGO shoppers will stop buying LEGO altogether. That said, there's a good chance you'll just be buying less of it and spending your money more judiciously.

LEGO tends to keep its prices at a premium; the company retires its sets rather than letting them depreciate in shelf value. However, there are specific days and weeks during the year that you should keep in mind when buying LEGO to maximize your dollar, and thus, maximize your fun.

Double Insider Points

Back in August 2023, the LEGO VIP program rebranded as LEGO Insiders. It's free to join on LEGO's official site, and it's essentially a loyalty rewards program. You can sign up here. There's other quality-of-life incentives when you join—you get to buy LEGO.com exclusive sets before anybody else, for example. But the main draw for most members is the Insider points you earn for buying sets on LEGO's official website or from a brick-and-mortar LEGO store.

In the United States, every dollar you spend earns you 6.5 points. You then direct those points towards future purchases; it converts to $1 for every 130 points you redeem.

So let's say, for argument's sake, you spend $300 on an expensive LEGO set. You earn $15 towards a future purchase—5% of what you originally spent. But the real savings come during promotional days and weeks where you can earn double the Insider points on select sets. So now, the same $300 will earn you $30.

These promotions are sometimes announced days in advance of the actual sale, so keep an eye on LEGO's social media to be in the know here.

Sales Seasons

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

LEGO always takes part in the biggest shopping event of the year. Beginning on the Friday before and lasting through Cyber Monday, there are some premium sets, such as the Batcave Shadow Box and the Pac-Man arcade, that will earn 3x the number of points. Even better, sets like the Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets and BMW M 1000 RR will earn 4x the number of points.

LEGO has yet to offer up any information about Black Friday 2025. Until then, you can check our roundup of the best LEGO deals or check back on LEGO’s Black Friday page.

Amazon Prime Day

Of course Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest sales days of the year in just about every category, and LEGO sets are no exception. Depending on when you are looking to buy a LEGO set, keep an eye out for deals during Prime Day in July, which usually runs for two days in mid July every year. As long as you're a Prime member, you can take advantage of LEGO discounts on Amazon Prime Day. Last year, the best LEGO deals during Prime Day included bigger franchise picks from Marvel LEGO and Star Wars LEGO sets.

In addition to the sale in July, Amazon also has an October Prime Day sale every year that often has pretty good deals on LEGO sets.

Holiday Weekends

In addition to the bigger shopping events like Black Friday, three-day weekends are a surprisingly good time to find discounts on LEGO at third-party vendors and sometimes the LEGO store itself. These sales are usually centered around federal holidays, so during Presidents' Day sales, Labor Day, or Memorial Day weekend are all decent times to find discounts on various sets.

Third-Party Outlets

Outside of the official LEGO stores, you can also buy LEGO at third-party outlets. Amazon, Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, and Best Buy all stock a wide variety of sets for purchase. So you should definitely check out those outlets in the coming weeks, especially for the retailers’ own Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Note: With the exception of Target, these organizations do not offer redeemable Insider points for LEGO purchases (although they may have their own rewards ecosystem). Although Target purchases are redeemable, they are at a much lower dollar to point exchange (1:1) than what you can get on the official LEGO Store (1:6.5).

Gifts With Purchase

There are also 'Gifts With Purchase' (GWPs), where you get a complimentary set for spending a certain amount of money. Spend $170, and you get a Winter Market Stall gift. Spend $250, and you get Majisto’s Magical Workshop. These two specific gifts are exclusive to Insiders Weekend, and there's also a different GWP at the brick-and-mortar LEGO stores. If you spend $40 in-person on Insider's Weekend, you get a Holiday Winter Train.

There are new GWPs every month and sometimes every fortnight. If you're not in a hurry for a new set, always look at the current GWP to decide whether to buy now or simply wait.

May The 4th Be With You!

The day has already passed us by this year, but Star Wars Day (May 4) is a guaranteed opportunity for excellent LEGO deals. It's often when LEGO debuts its Collector Series replicas for the year, and this past year, purchasing select sets earned 5x the number of Insider points.

The main takeaway from all of this is to be vigilant. There's lots of expensive sets, but the LEGO deals exist—you just have to be there on the right days to capitalize on them. If you plan ahead, you'll be able to indulge in your brand new (or current) hobby, without the guilt and financial stress that comes with an adult hobby price tag.

Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. His byline has appeared in numerous publications, including Complex, Engadget, Vice, Playboy, Gamespot, Popverse, and Kotaku.

IDW's long-running Sonic the Hedgehog series recently reached a major milestone with its 75th issue. Sonic the Hedgehog #75 chronicled the final battle between Team Sonic and the villain Clutch, leading to a followup story ominously titled "Scattered Pieces."

"Scattered Pieces" will unfold in the pages of Sonic the Hedgehog #76-80. With issue #76 now in stores, IGN can exclusively debut new art from the penultimate chapter of this new storyline at IGN Fan Fest. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a look at the three covers for Sonic the Hedgehog #79, along with the previously revealed "Scattered Pieces" covers:

"Scattered Pieces" is written by series regular Ian Flynn. Issue #79 features interior art and a main cover by Adam Bryce Thomas, with variant covers by Tyler Mcgrath and Nathalie Fourdraine.

Here's IDW's official description for Sonic the Hedgehog #79:

The long-running feud between ace sniper Whisper and sinister assassin Mimic is coming to a climactic showdown!

Only one of these former comrades will walk away! Can Tangle and Silver help turn the tide of battle? Or will Whisper suffer another friend getting caught in the crossfire? It’s a thrilling battle years in the making!

"IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog has been going strong for seven years now, and in that time has cultivated a number of storylines, characters and narrative elements it can call its own," Flynn tells IGN. "A lot of those all came to a head in Evan Stanley’s latest arc. Reaching a story’s climax is always fun, but I’m also just as eager to explore the follow-up. There will be a lot of fans asking 'What happens next?' My arc gets to answer that, bring a few conclusions of my own, and set the stage for Evan’s next major arc with the series."

Sonic the Hedgehog #76 is in stores now, with issue #77 due for release on March 19. You can preorder a copy of the new issue at your local comic shop (click here to find your local shop).

Also as part of IGN Fan Fest 2025, we got an early look at IDW's new Godzilla shared universe.

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

Demon Slayer and Team Liquid are crossing over for a brand-new collection of gear that aims to "set your style on fire" with jackets, shirts, keycap sets, and much more.

This new collection blends "Demon Slayer's unique aesthetic with the competitive edge of Team Liquid" and will allow fans to share their love for both with such items as the Tanjiro Varsity Jacket, Inosuke Sherpa Jacket, Kyojuro Keycap Set, and the Nezuko Crewneck.

There looks to be 26 items in total and fan-favorite characters like Hashira, Muichiro, Zenitsu, and Mitsuri all have their own gear. Oh, and even Nichirin Swords get some love with some comfy-looking cargo joggers.

If you want to own your own piece of Demon Slayer x Team Liquid gear, head over to tl.gg/demonslayer to grab them before they're gone. You can also check out a full list of the items below;

• Tanjiro Varsity Jacket
• Tanjiro Tech Jacket
• Inosuke Sherpa Jacket
• Flame Hashira Hoodie
• Mitsuri Hoodie
• Nezuko Crewneck
• Nezuko Tee
• Zenitsu Tee
• Muichiro Tee
• Nichiro Cargo Joggers
• Hashira Tech Shorts
• Nezuko Full Art Keycap Set
• Kyojuro Keycap Set
• Zenitsu Keycap Set
• Tanjiro Keycap Set
• Nezuko Keycap Set
• Inosuke Keycap Set
• Tanjiro Mousepad
• Nezuko Mousepad
• Flame Hashira Mousepad
• Inosuke Hashibira Mousepad
• Set You Heart Ablaze Mousepad
• Tanjiro Tumbler
• Nezuko Tumbler
• Demon Slayer Keychain Set
• Demon Slayer Sticker Pack

For more on Demon Slayer, check out our review of the series' fourth season, how Season 5 is set to be released as a film trilogy, and why the manga the show is adapted from is one of our picks for the best for beginners to read.

Also, be sure check out all the other big news from IGN Fan Fest.

Warner Bros. is canceling its planned Wonder Woman game and shutting down three studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego, according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier.

Schreier broke the news on Bluesky today, followed by the release of a full report on Bloomberg. Shortly after Schreier's post, WB confirmed the shut downs to Kotaku in a statement:

We have had to make some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises -– Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones. After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them.

The development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman videogame will not move forward. Our hope was to give players and fans the highest quality experience possible for the iconic character, and unfortunately this is no longer possible within our strategic priorities. This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games. We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contributions. As difficult as today is, we remain focused on and excited about getting back to producing high-quality games for our passionate fans and developed by our world class studios and getting our Games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.

Earlier this year, another Bloomberg report suggested Wonder Woman was in trouble after rebooting and switching directors in early 2024. This came amid larger struggles at the company's gaming division, including layoffs at Rocksteady, the lukewarm reception to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and the shutdown of MultiVersus.

And even more recently, WB Games has appeared to undergo a restructuring of sorts, as long-time games head David Haddad announced his departure from the company, and rumors circulated that the division might be sold off.

Specifically, this move represents a blow to WB's DC universe-connected gaming efforts. Notably, just yesterday, James Gunn and Peter Safran said in a presentation that it would be "a couple of years" before the first DCU video game.

With this closure, the games industry loses three incredibly storied studios. Monolith Productions, which had been working on Wonder Woman, was founded in 1994 and acquired by WB in 2004. It's best-known for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, Shadow of War, the former of which pioneered the lauded Nemesis system that WB successfully patented in 2021.

Player First Games, a newer studio established in 2019, was responsible for MultiVersus. The game was well-received critically and saw launch success, but underperformed relative to WB's expectations. WB San Diego, similarly, is a newer studio established in 2019 with a focus on mobile, free-to-play games.

These shutdowns continue a trend going back roughly three years of increasing games industry layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures. In 2023 alone, it's estimated that over 10,000 game developers were laid off. That number shot up to over 14,000 in 2024, and while 2025 has seen numerous closures, the exact number of impacted individuals is hazier due to fewer companies reporting these layoffs and shutdowns, or specific numbers affected.

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.

This article contains spoilers for Paradise on Hulu.

Hulu’s new hit show Paradise is usually a pulpy good time. Sure there’s drama in the Dan Fogelman joint, and plenty of tears and family angst (per the showrunner’s M.O. from This is Us). There’s even some action and intrigue, thanks to Sterling K. Brown’s upright secret service agent trying to unravel the mystery of who killed the President, played by James Marsden. It’s all good fun, at least until the seventh episode, “The Day,” which is the most upsetting episode of TV you’ll watch this year.

Is that a bold pronouncement for two months into 2025? Surely. But while the first six episodes are a good time at the ol’ boob tube, Episode 7 will punch you in the gut and bring you to tears for nearly the entire episode. It’s an unrelenting grand guignol of emotion that progresses multiple plot points in the show and sets up the season finale while you watch the world end.

And the focus of “The Day” – or at least what’s so gut-wrenching about it – isn’t the disaster, which we only get to see glimpses of on news footage, and hear about in phone calls and broadcasts. Instead, the episode presents what happened inside The White House in near real-time, and it is horrifying.

In the series, we meet Agent Xavier Collins (Brown), who has been tasked as the lead Secret Service agent guarding President Cal Bradford (Marsden). While it initially seems like Bradford is a young ex-president in the mode of JFK, lazing away his days after two terms in office drinking and womanizing, there’s actually a lot more going on – which becomes clear after Xavier discovers the dead body of Bradford on his bedroom floor.

In fact, up until his death, Bradford was still President – of about 25,000 people, what remains of the human race after an extinction-level disaster, who now live in the fake suburban community of Paradise under a mountain in Colorado. Over the course of the season through flashbacks, we slowly discover what may have led to this disaster, as well as how Paradise was built. Most of it is down to billionaire Samantha Redmond (Julianne Nicholson), who decided to prepare for a coming climate disaster by building this underground community, a little slice of heaven that is inspired by the dying wish of her youngest son. Again: This Is Us, Dan Fogelman, etc, you get the gist. It’s all very soap opera weepy up until this point.

And yes, this is a show about climate change, something that isn’t – as they used to say – advertised on the tin. Redmond encounters an unruly scientist in an earlier episode who warns her that there are about 10 years until a devastating climate-fueled disaster destroys the world… Not slowly, but all at once.

That’s what we get to see happen in Episode 7. Thanks to the melting of the polar ice caps, a volcano explodes in Antarctica, instantly melting a huge chunk of the ice and causing a tsunami hundreds of feet tall to crash over the Earth, destroying everything in its wake. The whole situation certainly seems to be Hollywood, Day After Tomorrow, on the surface – and it is. Having a climate disaster that is, in essence, “we’ll experience unlivable levels of heat over several years” wouldn’t be nearly as cinematic as what happens in the series.

Part of the neat, narrative trick that Fogelman and company have worked into this series is that we already know what is supposed to happen. In an earlier episode, Cal asks Xavier to walk him through the protocol for the disaster, code-named “Versailles” – likely named that due to the quick exit the royal family in France took from Versailles during the French Revolution. As Xavier talks him through the 20-minute plan they joke about Die Hard, chat about their families, and Cal strongly indicates to Xavier that his wife should stop taking business trips. Unfortunately, Xavier doesn’t really know the severity of the situation. So despite Cal’s strong looks at Xavier trying to indicate how bad things are going to get, Xavier merely defers that he can never tell his wife what to do – so of course she’s going to keep going out of town.

The signs are all there that this is going to be an emotional disaster, as well as a physical one. We also know that in the “present” Xavier’s wife is dead, and he’s solo-parenting his two kids in Paradise. We also have an inkling that Cal was drinking himself into a stupor every night before his untimely murder thanks to whatever happened on the day they left The White House. But again, given how pulpy everything has been up until now, there’s no reason to think this episode will be an emotionally harrowing hour that will leave you physically and emotionally drained.

It is, though. And the reason for that is everything starts to go wrong immediately, in big and small ways. Instead of the smooth roll-out that was presented in Cal and Xavier’s late-night walk, the sudden tsunami that destroys Australia – we get constant updates of which major cities are wiped off the face of the Earth as the episode continues – sends the White House into a frenzy. We watch as Cal wrestles with lying to the American people, ultimately telling the truth about the disaster through a final broadcast, urging everyone to spend time with the ones they care about before they die. We see that he does not escape cleanly as the people left behind in the White House realize the President and staff are exiting without them, leaving them to their deaths – those who aren’t shot down by the Secret Service first.

Of course, Xavier’s wife is out of town, and watching the usually unflappable agent fall apart as he tries repeatedly to get through to her on the jammed phone lines, working with the President and Joint Chiefs of Staff to get her a route to one of the planes to Colorado, is heartbreaking… As is the way he keeps avoiding his children’s questions about their mother. And the punch, that Cal always knew she wasn’t going to make it, leads to Xavier flipping out on the tarmac in a way that will tear your heart out.

Adding on to that is a trickle-down effect where Xavier, who is dealing with the fact that he may not get his wife out in time, is doling out the same lies to the President’s long-time secretary, who is not on the “to-be saved” list. Once she realizes she won’t make it out, all she asks of Xavier is that they save her special needs son (we don’t see him in the episode), leading to a moment right before the President flees where the action pauses on her. “Mr. President,” she says,” My sister is here with Edward, they’re at the gate. So I’ll go get him.” She turns to leave and pick up her son… But he was never getting taken along. And the level of betrayal at that moment is more crushing than any tsunami destruction footage.

That footage is brutal, though. The one time we get to see what’s happening in the world at large is through a news report from Jakarta, where a reporter is broadcasting from the tallest building in the city. They should be safe – but of course, aren’t. And as the tsunami approaches, the crash of the waves causes a repeated and off-tempo sonic boom that will make you jump in your seat. As the reporter realizes the wave is going to overtake them, the broadcast cuts out, it cuts back to a silent newsroom, and we watch the staff outside the Oval Office, similarly, silent, in tears, the full weight of what’s happening hitting them for the first time both literally and figuratively.

In the middle of this, Marsden gives the performance of a lifetime as President Bradford, initially acting strong and choosing a blue tie over a yellow one because it’s “more calming,” and then ultimately heartsick over getting to leave when everyone else is being left to die. There are classic drama moments like when he asks a White House janitor why he’s still cleaning the building with everything that’s going on, but even these more trope-y pieces of drama work because Marsden’s Bradford is so anguished over his role in not saving more people when he could.

Is “The Day” manipulative? Sure. But it’s to prove a point, and show the weight of a climate disaster that is coming in the real world so slowly we think it won’t happen in our lifetimes when it more than likely will. Thanks to the real-time structure, the performances, the direction, and the unrelenting nature of the hour, there’s no way you can’t come out of it feeling grief-stricken about this potential future of the Earth. In next week’s season finale, Paradise should be back to the pulp and fun that characterized the first six episodes. But for one hour, Hulu’s sci-fi show makes us live on the last day of the human species. It’s shattering and will leave you in despair. Here’s hoping – and dreading – that the team will find something else as traumatic and emotionally urgent for the already-announced Season 2. It’s a lot. But if you can handle it, it’s also a must-watch.

Here are best deals for Tuesday, February 25. New price drops include the current gen Apple Watch Series 10, the classic Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection for all console platforms, a handy little portable smart light for emergencies, a fully featured and well built gaming chair for under $200, and more.

Check out "the best deals under $30" for any impulse buys on items that you never knew you needed until you visited this page. Read on lower for some great deals that cost over $30 and may require a bit more involved decision-making.

The Wild Robot (4K UHD) for $10

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 has a premiere release date as part of an exclusive reveal at IGN Fan Fest 2025: May 4, 2025.

IGN showed off an exclusive clip and interview with Scott Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead universe, Maggie actor Lauren Cohen, and Negan actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan during Fan Fest 2025 Day 2.

Cohen described the mental state Maggie is in going into Season 2. “Sadly not everything is quite as rosy as it could be or seems or one would hope,” Cohen explained.

“My son is still a teenage boy and there are these natural tensions of navigating just family life. And I’ve got Ginny in my care and she’s a teenage girl. And so there are very relatable domestic dynamics that are playing out as we come back in Season 2, on top of this apocalyptic world and trying to eat and stay safe and sleep. That’s where we find ourselves before another big bad thing happens.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan also talked about his character, Negan, who has gone from being despised to a fan-favorite.

“We find Negan very much under the thumb of The Dama and The Croat, and on some ground he’s not real familiar with,” he said.

“He’s going to try flip that script, of course. But he’s in a place that I don’t think he’s enjoying very much. At the beginning of the season we find him having a hard time with all of it. He’s always scheming and trying to figure out how he can get on top of the situation, but he finds himself in a hard spot.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan also commented about Negan’s iconic baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, named Lucille after his dead wife.

“The Lucille of it all, what can I say?” he said. “I love that thing! But I as an actor, that’s the only prop I’ve ever had my whole life I enjoy carrying around with me. It brought back very fond memories for me. Not for Lauren!”

Gimple also discussed the conflict going into Season 2. “There is no single big bad,” he said. “There’s a lot of shifting as far as the power ranking for this season. It isn’t all antagonistic. It’s a little more complex like that. It’s a little more political. And then we get kinda physical.”

IGN also has the opening minutes of the opening episode of Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Dead City, below.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 hits AMC on May 4, 2025. Be sure to keep up with everything announced at Fan Fest 2025.

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.

IGN Fan Fest 2025 has arrived and we're so excited to be sharing exclusive reveals, trailers, gameplay, deep dives, and interviews with the people behind some of your favorite movies, shows, games, comics, and anime.

IGN Fan Fest 2025 runs through Friday, February 28, and you can check out the full schedule right here. After an exciting first day with the ID@Xbox Showcase, Day 2 has begun and promises to focus on horror among other favorites.

We'll be gathering all the biggest reveals right here, and you can keep checking back as we will constantly be updating this roundup throughout the week!

Day 2

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Premiere Release Date Confirmed

It was revealed during IGN Fan Fest 2025 that The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 will officially premiere on May 4, 2025. In addition to the release date announcement, we also had the chance to interview Scott Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead universe, Maggie actor Lauren Cohen, and Negan actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

If that wasn't enough The Walking Dead for you, you can check out our exclusive look at the first few minutes of The Walking Dead: Dead City's newest season.

Until Dawn Filmmakers on Adapting the PlayStation Game for the Big Screen

Alongside revealing two new photos from the Until Dawn film, director David F. Sandberg and producer and writer Gary Dauberman stopped by IGN Fan Fest to share what it's like to adapt a beloved PlayStation game for the big screen and why it won't just be a straight recreation of what we already know and love.

George R.R. Martin Teases Elden Ring Movie and In The Lost Lands

Game of Thrones' George R.R. Martin spoke with us about Paul W.S. Anderson's upcoming adaptation of his dark fantasy short story known as In the Lost Lands. In addition, he also looks back at working on the mythology of Elden Ring and a potential film adaptaion, his thoughts on The Fantasic Four: First Steps, and more.

For more on In the Lost Lands, you can check out our exclusive 'I Don't Have Many Friends' clip starring Milla Jovovich's Grey Alys and Dave Bautista's Boyce.

Mayfair Witches Exclusive Clip Shows a Tease of Season 2 of the Anne Rice Adaptation

Check out an exclusive clip of Season 2 of Mayfair Witches where you can get a glimpse of the story that is set to unfold beginning on March 2 on AMC and AMC+. In this new season, Alexandra Daddario's Rowan Mayfair must wrestle with the fact that she unwittingly gave birth to the demon Lasher.

Fear Street: Prom Queen Gets a Release Date

With the help of R.L. Stein, IGN Fan Fest 2025 revealed that Fear Street: Prom Queen is set to arrive on Netflix on May 23, 2025. We don't have long to find out why all these "it" girls competing for Prom Queen at Shadyside High keep disappearing.

Last Breath Exclusive Clip Shows the Dangers of Being Trapped Under the Ocean

In this exclusive clip from Last Breath, we get to see a team of deep-sea divers who are doing all they can to help one of their own when they are trapped deep under the ocean. Last Breath, which is based on a true story, will be released in theaters on February 28, 2025.

The Alters' Latest Trailer Showcases Gameplay and Characters

The latest trailer for The Alters, the upcoming sci-fi adventure game from the creators of This War of Mine, puts a big focus on gameplay and the varying personalities of The Alters themselves. Get ready to survive in a high-tech mobile base on a hostile planet when The Alters is released on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.

To help with the wait, players can check out of a demo of The Alters right now.

The Last Caretaker Is an Adventure on the High Seas All About Saving Humanity

Get your first look at The Last Caretaker, a game where you must sail across the ocean to help save humanity after our species was pushed to the brink. The game unfolds as a first-person survival action-adventure and you'll have to do all you can to "recover the seeds, reactivate the Lazarus Complex, and launch the last of humanity to the stars."

Day 1

Balatro on Xbox Game Pass, a New Look at Lies of P: Overture, and Everything Else Announced at the ID@Xbox Showcase

IGN was so excited to partner again with ID@Xbox for the latest ID@Xbox Showcase, and there were some big announcements from the brightest indie games out now and on our way in the future. From Balatro being available on Xbox Game Pass RIGHT NOW to new looks at Lies of P: Overture and Tron: Catalyst and so much more, there was a ton to celebrate.

Director/producer David F. Sandberg and producer/writer Gary Dauberman appeared on IGN Fan Fest Tuesday to promote their upcoming horror-thriller Until Dawn during which time they shed light on their approach to adapting the PlayStation Studios game for the big screen. We also have an exclusive first look at two new photos from the Screen Gems release hitting theaters April 25th.

(Our video chat with the Until Dawn filmmakers can be watched via the player above or the embed below.)

Sandberg, who began his career directing horror films like Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, was eager to return to the genre after directing two Shazam! movies in a row. “Well, what horror do I want to do? A slasher or supernatural or whatever? And then Gary came along with this idea and I was like, ‘This is perfect because I get to do all of it,’ you know? So it couldn't have been a more perfect project to do after that.”

The Until Dawn movie follows a group of young friends who find themselves stuck in a horrifying time loop where each are slain over and over by a variety of terrifying threats. Their only hope to escape this vicious cycle before their limited numbers of lives run out is to finally survive until, well, dawn.

Scroll through the gallery below for two exclusive new photos from Until Dawn.

“I thought it was a great idea to do because the game is already a movie. It's the most cinematic game that I've played, the closest thing to a movie,” Sandberg said. “So it felt like doing the exact same thing would be just cutting out eight hours of stuff and condensing it into a movie and removing the interactive stuff, and that wouldn't have been as interesting to me.”

Dauberman, who shares screenplay credit with Blair Butler, echoed that sentiment. “I didn't want it to feel as if you're watching someone else play the game,” said Dauberman, who previously scripted the It and Annabelle movies. “So if we're not going to do that, we still want to be true to the spirit of the game, and how can we really explore the story further and push it further and expand the mythology, make the game part of a larger narrative?”

Until Dawn embraces a variety of horror movie sub-genres, from body horror to found footage to slasher films. Not wanting to reveal spoilers, Sandberg was coy about the reasons for the in-world shifts in sub-genres throughout the film: “What's mentioned in the movie is what's scarier than not knowing what comes the next day? You cannot prepare. Maybe you're dealing with the slasher villain one day, like, ‘Okay, we know how to deal with that,’ but then the next day it's like a supernatural movie, and all those rules you just learned just go out the window. It has to do with keeping people as afraid as possible.”

Dauberman was a bit more generous in his explanation, citing the character played by actor Peter Stormare. “The answer lies with Dr. Alan Hill, who is in the game and is in our movie and sort of that connective tissue from one to the other, and I think he has the answer to the question that you're looking for.”

IGN Fan Fest runs through this Friday, February 28, and includes exciting reveals and new looks at a wide array of upcoming games, movies, TV shows, anime, comics, and collectibles.

This year’s lineup includes Monster Hunter Wilds, WWE 2K25, Daredevil: Born Again, Mythic Quest, Devil May Cry, Novocaine, The Monkey, Godzilla, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Sonic the Hedgehog to name just a few properties.

A24, Mattel Films, and Daniel Kaluuya's 59% Productions are partnering to bring Barney to life on the big screen, and they're bringing on some more talent. The trio have announced Ayo Edebiri will be writing and potentially starring in the live-action Barney film.

Edebiri, who's won numerous awards for her work on the restaruant drama The Bear, is set to write the screenplay and is in talks to star. Alongside her work on The Bear, Edebiri's also recently voiced Envy in Pixar's Inside Out 2.

Few details have been released yet as to the actual story of this Barney film, or how the purple dinosaur will translate onto the silver screen. Barney & Friends was a staple for any kid growing up in the '90s, airing for 14 seasons on PBS and embedding the "I love you, you love me" song for decades after.

Blue Moon will open in theaters at a date TBD. This review is based on a screening at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.

While ostensibly a biopic of famed Broadway songwriter Lorenz Hart, Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon unfolds over a single evening in 1943. A fun, tragic, and impeccably focused film, its seemingly stage-like presentation soon gives way to wild cinematic energy centered around Ethan Hawke, who delivers a fine-tuned performance as the verbose, balding, five-foot-nothing Hart. Robert Kaplow’s screenplay reverse-engineers the story both from real reports and apocryphal whispers about one of Broadway’s most infamous evenings: Opening night for Oklahoma!, when Hart’s former creative partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), kicked off his legendary run with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney), and Hart disappeared down a bottle while waiting to toast the creators and the cast at storied afterparty spot Sardi’s. Despite the compressed timeline, it unfurls entire lives, histories, and relationships from the minutiae of fleeting interactions, as Linklater’s theatrical staging takes on greater symbolic meanings while its literal, grounded drama passionately unfolds.

Linklater is hardly the kind of filmmaker who demands homework. You don’t need to know much about Hart going into Blue Moon (named for the popular standard ballad he penned with Rodgers), and the essentials are summarized through a radio broadcast early in the runtime. While “Rodgers and Hart” were an impeccable duo, they would arguably be eclipsed in theatre history by “Rodgers and Hammerstein” – an inevitability of which Hawke’s version of Hart seems painfully aware. A small man in more ways than one – he’s charmingly diminutive, but repulsively (albeit hilariously) condescending – Hart occupies an isolated bar room at Sardi’s for much of Blue Moon, lobbing faint praise and catty criticism at Oklahoma! until the guests of honor arrive. This sprawling section features only Hart, his bartender friend Eddie (Bobby Cannavale), the young bar pianist Morty (Jonah Lees), and a quiet writer often seated in the background and soon revealed to be Charlotte’s Web author E.B White (Patrick Kennedy). The latter isn’t merely a historical easter egg; Blue Moon’s who’s-who of mid-century New York royalty is purposeful in its construction.

In this cordoned-off area, Hart doesn’t just wait anxiously to congratulate Rodgers (despite feeling abandoned by him). He’s also giddily anticipating the arrival of his collegiate protégé, Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley). Hart, who was most likely queer, has a wonderfully complicated dynamic with Weiland: 27 years his junior, she’s a cross between gossip partner, breathtaking muse, and potential lover (who also happens to tower over him in every shot). Before she appears, Hart speaks of her excitedly to each of his companions at Sardi’s. As Blue Moon goes on, this trio slowly begins to reflect different aspects or projections of his personality, be it Eddie’s forced, outward masculinity, Morty’s wide-eyed, youthful optimism, and White’s measured reserve – as though he were some dignified, idealized version of Hart that could never be. They, along with Weiland, all come to personify the possibility and sheer beauty that exist around Hart, just outside the edges of the frame. In Linklater and Kaplow’s telling, the tragedy of Lorenz Hart is his ability to convey love, and the feeling of being loved, through words – whether or not he fully loves, or is ever fully loved himself.

Blue Moon, like Hart, has an intense love of language, so the fact that it’s largely made up of monologues (or swift dialogue exchanges once Sardi’s gets more crowded) is perhaps its biggest strength. Hawke pores over every word, and Linklater in turn moves his camera along with nearly every sentence, creating a relentless momentum even when nothing in particular seems to happen. These scenes may feel like a filmed stage play, but the moment Hart leaves his refuge and begins interacting with the other guests, the more the camera is forced to follow him on an intimate and chaotic journey through his most all-encompassing personal and professional fears.

All the while, Hawke is magnificent to behold, chomping on cigars and delivering a wonderfully magnetic performance that radiates the specific and familiar (as in snobbish and presumptuous) energy of the era’s New York theatre scene. He speaks in movie references, searing literary criticisms, and knowing riddles that reveal both adoration and desperate self-loathing. And while Hakwe’s stagey comb-over reveals the distinct borders of his actual hairline, the shaven portion of his forehead makes him seem almost like a monk worshipping at the altar of transformative arthouse performance. It’s the kind of acting born not from showiness (well, not only showiness), but from a deep and thoughtful understanding of the character.

Hart may be physically centered, and his purpose on this particular evening may simply be to congratulate the cast (and aggressively bump elbows with Rodgers on occasion), but Hawke imbues him with a melancholy verging on destructive. (It’s widely believed that the party pushed Hart off the wagon for good; he was dead just seven months later.) His mouth says one thing – usually something polite or passive-aggressive – but his expression betrays a deep, internal void born from fears of obsolescence. The blue-eyed Hawke wears jet-black contact lenses for the role, but you can see the whole world, and all its terrors, swimming in his eyes.

In sharp contrast to the shifty, short-statured Hart, Scott’s handsome, no-nonsense version of Rodgers – for which he was awarded Berlin’s Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance – seems to channel James Stewart. He adores and abhors Hart in equal measure, eager to please and praise him while equally desperate to grab him by the collar and shake him out of his self-destructive stupor. You can intuit this all from the way Scott gazes upon Hawke.

Thanks to their proximity, Rodgers’ words cut his former partner deeply when the duo disagrees about their respective approaches to art and entertainment in the final years of World War II. This thread in particular adds a relevant thematic layer to their interpersonal drama: Both Hart and Rodgers (and several other characters in Blue Moon) are Jewish, and a moment rife with conflict and antisemitism forces them to take stock of how best to reach people through their work. Rodgers, through shows like Oklahoma!, is far more nakedly sentimental, while Hart harbors a more cynical, satirical streak. Fittingly, both these approaches feel ever-present in Blue Moon, a film that proves deeply captivating the further it gets into its runtime. Even at a mere 100 minutes, it feels like an entire lifetime lived and explored, all through the lens of regret, artistic disappointment, and the ways in which they trickle down into even the smallest of interactions and the most fleeting glances.

Disney has revealed that its critically acclaimed Star Wars story Andor will have an unusual release schedule that sees all Season 2 episodes premiering throughout a four-week period.

Fans of the Rogue One prequel show can expect to see the next chapter of Cassian Andor’s story rollout across 12 episodes. Its April 22 release date will bring three episodes to start, a strategy not uncommon for recent popular streaming releases, but it’s how Disney is choosing to release the remaining episodes that will keep audiences on their toes.

Instead of dropping single episodes weekly, Disney+ subscribers will find that Season 2 has been split into four chapters, with three episodes of the Star Wars show dropping every week from April 22 to May 13. How long each episode of Andor Season 2 will be remains unclear.

Star Wars Andor Season 2 Release Schedule

• April 22: Episodes 1, 2, and 3
• April 29: Episodes 4, 5, and 6
• May 6: Episodes 7, 8, and 9
• May 1: Episodes 10, 11, and 12

Additional details were revealed in a post on the official Star Wars website. Each trio of episodes will have different writers and directors, with series creator Tony Gilroy writing episodes 1 - 3, Beau Willimon writing 4 - 6, Dan Gilroy writing 7 - 9, and Tom Bissell writing 10 - 12. In the directing spot for the first six episodes is Ariel Kleiman, with Janus Metz taking over for episodes 7 - 9 and Alonso Ruizpalacios helming episodes 10 - 12.

"One of the great thrills of making Andor is the scale of the story and the number of characters we’re able to meet — ordinary people, Imperial overlords, passionate revolutionaries," Tony Gilroy said in a statement.

"They are real people making epic decisions, all of them staring down questions with terrifying consequences. Cassian’s journey is the soul and spine of our story, but it’s the choir that makes the show. I’m so excited for audiences to see where we go in Season 2."

News of the Andor Season 2 release schedule follows the spinoff’s debut trailer, which premiered yesterday. It’s a teaser that brings viewers back to a galaxy far, far away as it barrels toward one of the most important moments in Star Wars history: the completion of the Death Star.

Unsurprisingly, that means there are plenty of familiar faces that fans of both Andor Season 1 and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will recognize. Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn, and Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael look like they’ll continue to play an important part in a universe on the eve of revolution, as will Rogue One veterans Alan Tudyk, who is back as K-2SO, and Ben Mendelson, who returns as Death Star orchestrator Director Krennic.

Details on how Andor Season 2 will follow its beloved first season are light, but we did get a small sneak peek late last year as part of a brief Disney+ trailer. Luna also revealed last summer that Season 2 brings so much to the table that it turns Rogue One, which picks up after the events of the upcoming season, into a “different film.” For everything else coming to Star Wars fans in 2025, you can see our list of some of the major projects we know are in development.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

With so many great games coming down the pipeline, now's a great time to hop on the Xbox Game Pass bandwagon. If some titles joining the catalog this year have caught your eye and you're itching to join in on the fun, we have good news: You can score some savings on a three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership right now at Amazon, which is worth taking advantage of.

You can learn more about that deal, what's coming soon to Game Pass, and the big releases still to come below.

Navigate to:

• Best Xbox Game Pass Deals
• What's Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?
• What Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass?
• Biggest Games Releasing on Xbox Game Pass

Best Xbox Game Pass Deals

Add some more fuel to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remake rumor fire! Singapore's rating board has rated "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4" for a 2025 release.

The rumored remake, consisting of the next two mainline games in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, would be heading to a hefty lineup of platforms. The ratings board lists Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S as platforms for the THPS collection.

No official confirmation has arrived just yet for this collection, though a countdown timer spotted in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is teasing some Tony Hawk's Pro Skater news is coming. The countdown is ticking down to March 4, 2025.

Additionally, Tony Hawk told Mythical Kitchen that he's been talking to Activsion again, and that they are working on something. "It will be something the fans will truly appreciate," Hawk said.

Following the by-all-accounts stellar remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 from 2020, a remake of the next two games seemed like a no-brainer. Though 3 and 4 felt like an almost surefire bet to happen next, Activision folded the THPS remake developer Vicarious Visions into Blizzard in 2021 and dedicated the team to "Blizzard games and initiatives."

According to Tony Hawk, the original plan "even up util the release day" of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 remake was to tackle 3+4 next. But when Vicarious Visions got absorbed, the publisher sought other developers.

“The truth of it is that [Activision] were trying to find somebody to do 3 + 4 but they just didn’t really trust anyone the way they did Vicarious, so they took other pitches from other studios,” Tony Hawk said in a Twitch livestream in 2022. “Like, ‘What would you do with the THPS title?’ And they didn’t like anything they heard, and then that was it.”

The question remains, then: if a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 remake is happening, and it sure looks like it is, who's making it? The Singaporean ratings board only lists Activision as the publisher and developer. March 4, next week, seems like the day we'll learn some more answers.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Introducing Edge of Memories, a new JRPG for PC, PS5, and Xbox from Nacon and developer Midgar Studio. It's the sequel to 2021's Edge of Eternity. It's being worked on by decorated team, including Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsda, NieR lyricist Emi Evans, Xenoblade Chronicles character designer Raita Kazama, and Final Fantasy XV combat designer Mitsuru Yokoyama.

In Edge of Memories' world of Heyron, the Corrosion has either killed or transformed inhabitants into "misshapen abominations." You play as Eline, with Ysoris and Kanta in your party, as you travel through the Corrosion-ravaged continent of Avaris. Check out the announcement trailer above, and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

Combat in Edge of Memories is real-time, with combos amplifying your damage along with the ability to Hulk out and turn into a Berserk. It's being built in Unreal Engine 5, and is due out in Fall 2025.

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

With PS5 games getting bigger each year and SSD prices rising, we want to make sure you can find the best amount of storage for the lowest price possible. Here, we'll point you in the direction of some of the greatest 2TB SSD deals we can find at the moment, like this incredible deal on the Samsung 990 Evo Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for $129.99.

It's worth noting that you can't use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You'll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid-state drive with at least a 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5's internal drive. We've gathered up SSDs that match or exceed these specs in the list below to make your search easier.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD and not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we'll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don't, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (like this one for $10) and install it yourself. For our top recommended picks for 2025, check out our full breakdown for the Best PS5 SSDs.

Samsung 990 Evo Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for $129.99

The Batman: Arkham games sit alongside Insomniac's Spider-Man as the best comic book games ever made. With the Arkham series, Rocksteady Studios blended excellent freeflow combat, top-tier voice performances, and an inspired rendition of Gotham City to create an unforgettable collection of action-adventure superhero games.

With a new VR addition to the Arkham series out now, some of you may be interested in playing (or replaying) the best Batman games of all time.

Jump to:

• How to play in chronological order
• How to play by release order

How Many Batman Arkham Games Are There?

In total, there are 10 games in the Batman Arkhamverse. However, only eight of the 10 Arkhamverse games are currently playable — two mobile games have been shut down/removed from mobile storefronts.

Which Batman Arkham Game Should You Play First?

There are a few different ways you can start playing the Batman Arkham series as a newcomer: If you want to go through the story chronologically, this will put your starting point at 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins. However, because Origins was released years after the first game, it could potentially spoil the older games for you. If you want to experience the series by release date, you'd want to start with Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Batman Arkham Games in Chronological Order

Below we’ve outlined two ways to approach the Batman: Arkham games: chronologically by release date or chronologically by narrative. The choice is yours, and both possible paths are outlined below.

With series newcomers in mind, these brief plot synopses contain only mild spoilers such as broad plot points and character introductions.

1. Batman: Arkham Origins

The first Arkham game chronologically is 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins. Set on Christmas Eve in a snow-covered Gotham, Origins stars a less-experienced Batman who finds himself with a $50 million bounty on his head, drawing the attention of Gotham’s finest criminals: the Joker, Black Mask, The Penguin, Mad Hatter, Bane, Deadshot, Firefly, and Killer Croc, among others. The ending hints at the reopening of Arkham Asylum, setting up the future events of Rocksteady’s game of the same name.

Notably, Origins stars Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker, subbing in for Arkham’s regular superstar duo of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. While the Arkhamverse was established by Rocksteady Studios, Origins was developed by WB Montreal, the studio behind Gotham Knights.

A mobile version of Arkham Origins was also released. While it plays much differently than its console counterpart — it’s a brawler developed by Mortal Kombat studio NeatherRealm — it hits the same narrative beats.

2. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is set three months after the events of Origins. Unlike the third-person adventures that comprise the mainline Arkham games, Blackgate is a 2.5D side-scroller developed by Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 VR).

In Blackgate, Batman investigates the titular prison, where an explosion has freed its inmates. As the Caped Crusader, you explore three main areas, each controlled by one of Gotham’s most notorious villains: Penguin, Black Mask, and the Joker. Other notable characters include Catwoman, Amanda Waller, and Rick Flag.

Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker take another turn as Batman and the Joker.

3. Batman: Arkham Shadow

Batman: Arkham Shadow is the second VR game set within the Arkhamverse. The game primarily takes place in Blackgate Penitentiary between Origins/Origins Blackgate and Asylum — on July 4, to be exact, seven months after the Christmas-set events of Origins (and therefore four months after Blackgate).

Roger Craig Smith once again voices this younger iteration of Batman, who faces off against a mysterious new villain known as The Rat King. Other Gotham staples in Shadow include Jim Gordon, Doctors Harlene Quinzel and Jonathan Crane, Arnold Wesker (The Ventriloquist), and Barbra Gordon.

Shadow is the first game in the Arkhamverse developed by Camouflaj, the studio behind Marvel's Iron Man VR.

4. Batman: Arkham Underworld

Batman: Arkham Underworld is a mobile game that positions you as Gotham’s newest criminal mastermind, allowing you to command Batman villains such as Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, and Killer Croc. It’s essentially a free-to-play Gotham gang recruiter, in which you build a criminal hideout, recruit henchmen, and do battle. Kevin Conroy reprises his role as Batman following the mainline Arkham trilogy.

Arkham Underworld is set sometime before Arkham Asylum, though it possesses little importance to the overall Arkhamverse narrative — which is fortunate considering it’s no longer available to download (Arkham Underworld was shut down in 2017, only a year after it was released).

Bonus: Batman: Assault on Arkham

Batman: Assault on Arkham is an animated film set in the Arkhamverse, roughly two years before Arkham Asylum. Those only interested in the games can skip the film without much effect, but those interested in the full Arkhamverse narrative should check it out — it’s available to stream on HBO Max and happens to be a pretty entertaining movie; our review awarded it an 8.8, calling it “a great heist film.”

Like Arkham Underworld, Arkham Assault shines the spotlight on Batman’s adversaries, following Harley, Joker, Riddler, and others as they infiltrate Arkham Asylum, ultimately freeing many of its most notorious inmates.

Kevin Conroy once again voices Batman, while Troy Baker voices the Joker. Notably, Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad) lends his voice to Black Spider.

5. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Rocksteady’s first Batman game, Batman: Arkham Asylum introduces us to the Arkhamverse’s verson of the Caped Crusader (voiced by Kevin Conroy). It’s the fourth game in the chronology but the first to be released. Mark Hamill’s Joker serves as the primary villain, though the cast of characters also includes Harley Quinn, Commissioner Gordon, Scarecrow, Bane, Poison Ivy, and others.

With the help of Harley Quinn, the Joker infiltrates the asylum to obtain a super-strength serum called Titan. The Clown Prince had bombs planted around Gotham City, threatening to detonate them should anyone come to Batman’s aid, leaving our hero to deal with the asylum’s escapees alone.

Arkham Asylum’s story was written by Paul Dino, whose long history with the franchise includes many writing credits on Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

6. Batman: Arkham City Lockdown

Released shortly after Arkham City, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is a fighter set between the events of Asylum and City. It’s the first Arkham mobile game to be released and the second developed by NeatherRealm (the other being the aforementioned Arkham Origins mobile game).

Narratively, Arkham City Lockdown features tons of Arkham staples, including the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill), Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Penguin, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, Robin, and of course, Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy). The story centers around yet another prison escape that Batman must clean up.

We’ll spoil this one since the plot is relatively inconsequential and Arkham City Lockdown is no longer available to purchase: Batman prevails and returns the escaped prisoners to the asylum.

7. Batman: Arkham City

Rocksteady’s second game in the series, Batman: Arkham City takes place a year and a half after Arkham Asylum. Following the events of Asylum, Mayor Quincy Sharp opens Arkham City, a section of Gotham City walled off to house criminals. Arkham City sees Batman navigating the lawless area while working to thwart the nefarious, overarching plot seemingly orchestrated by Hugo Strange.

Batman must also deal with a separate threat from the Joker, who’s dealing with the ill effects of the Titan serum he took during the events of Asylum.

Arkham City’s story, like Asylum’s before it, was written by Paul Dini.

8. Batman: Arkham VR

The series’ lone virtual reality game, Batman: Arkham VR is set shortly before the events of Arkham Knight. It’s a narrative-driven game focused on detective work as Batman tries to solve the murder of a close ally.

Given its nature as a story-heavy game, we can’t say much here, but if you have access to a VR headset, Arkham VR is certainly worth playing, especially considering its brief ~90-minute runtime.

The supporting cast includes Robin, Nightwing, Alfred Pennyworth, Penguin, Killer Croc, and Joker. Arkham VR stars Conroy and Hamill’s Batman and the Joker.

9. Batman: Arkham Knight

The conclusion to Rocksteady's trilogy of mainline Batman games, Batman: Arkham Knight raises the stakes with the series' biggest version of Gotham, its most varied cast of characters, and the introduction of a fully playable Batmobile.

Arkham Knight is set on the night of Halloween, presumably less than a year after the events of City. Scarecrow (voiced by Lord of the Rings' John Noble) is threatening Gotham City with his fear toxin, while a new threat surfaces in the mysterious Arkham Knight. Batman, all the while, is dealing with internal torment as an effect of the previous games.

All three threads are wrapped up by the end of Arkham Knight's ~16-hour campaign, though you'll have to earn 100% completion to see the game's true ending.

In addition to Scarecrow and Arkham Knight, the supporting cast includes Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Robin, Commissioner Gordon, and Barbara Gordon.

10. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

Rocksteady’s latest game takes us away from Batman and Gotham, yet it's officially “a continuation of the Arkhamverse,” according to the developer. Rocksteady promised “a lot of the threads and storylines [from past Arkham games] will come to fruition.” The game takes place about 5 years after the events of Arkham Knight.

Kill the Justice League shifts the focus to Task Force X, as players explore Metropolis as either Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, or King Shark. It’snow available to play on consoles and PC.

How to Play the Batman Arkham Games By Release Date

• Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
• Batman: Arkham City (2011)
• Batman: Arkham City Lockdown (2011)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)
• Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (2013)
• Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)*
• Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)
• Batman: Arkham Underworld (2016)
• Batman: Arkham VR (2016)
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024)
• Batman: Arkham Shadow (2024)

*Animated film

What's Next in the Arkham Series?

After Arkham Shadow released last October, there are currently no known Batman Arkham games in development. The most recent VR release was developed by Camouflaj, so fans are hoping to see primary developer Rocksteady Studios return to the series after nearly a decade away. While Bloomberg reported Rocksteady was once again pitching single-player games (after Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League), there's been no official word on the studio's next project.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

Mecha Break recently launched into a new round of open beta play on Steam, and quickly dethroned some titans in the process. Even though it's just a glimpse of the final experience, Mecha Break's demo is bumping elbows with the likes of Marvel Rivals, Grand Theft Auto V, Apex Legends, and Naraka Bladepoint. So why's it got such a bad rating on Steam?

The open beta launch pulled in over 300,000 players on Steam, deseating Marvel Rivals and hitting a top-four place in the most played games on Valve's platform. Even right now, at the time of writing this, Amazing Seasun Games' mecha battler has the fourth-highest concurrent players per SteamDB, though it falls behind Rivals' 24-hour peak.

Popularity doesn't naturally incur positivity; Apex Legends has a 'Mixed' overall rating on Steam, as does Delta Force, and both have substantially more recent players than many other games on the PC platform. Yet Mecha Break's demo is sitting at 'Mostly Negative' right now, with over 6,500 reviews.

Taking a look through the reviews, there are a few discernible complaints. The most easily addressed are the server issues. With hundreds of thousands of players flocking to the open beta, which apparently overwhelmed the servers. Amazing Seasun responded, saying the studio has addressed the problem and is issuing several batches of "Ultimate Maintenance Boxes" to players as compensation.

Those boxes are a constant, and longer-term, point of concern among players though. Individual mechs are unlocked through the store or battle pass, as well as cosmetic purchases. There's also a loot box mechanic for mods, which come with mild upsides and downsides, that has players worried about long-term balance and time investment.

It seems that while many aspects of Mecha Break can be unlocked for free, it will take at least some time to do so. "Outside of missions, the match to match reward of currency is very low. In order to unlock the entire roster you'll likely have to play hundreds of games to get there," one reviewer said.

Another repeat critique across several reviews is the anti-cheat measures. Mecha Break uses the kernel level anti-cheat Anti-Cheat Expert, or ACE. These often allow for greater access to users' machines, in exchange for monitoring for more extensive cheating options. Usually, players aren't too happy about anti-cheats like this. The anti-cheat is also apprently causing problems for Linux desktop users, per GamingOnLinux.

Tack on some extra customization woes, like spending currency to re-customize your in-game pilot, and the negative reviews paint a fairly stark picture of frustration over currencies and grinding for unlocks. Mecha Break is set to be a free-to-play game, so some of those do end up coming with the territory. And interestingly, there does seem to be a counter-movement of positive reviews, though it's still lagging behind the negative ones by raw numbers.

At the very least, while there are some gameplay concerns, those sentiments seem to be broadly positive compared to the out-of-combat critiques. Most of the positive reviews and even many of the negative reviews praise the actual mecha battles, as well as the pilot and mecha customization options, which include a bunch of cosmetics and paints to create, say, your very own Evangelion Unit-02 or Gundam Heavyarms.

We'll see if Amazing Seasun works to address the negative responses leading into the full release sometime later this year.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Pantheon season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

Somewhat fittingly for an animated show about corporate malfeasance and digital life after death, the wildly ambitious sci-fi series Pantheon has re-emerged on Netflix more than two years after it was purged from AMC+ for tax purposes. These final eight episodes (previously unavailable in the United States) conclude Pantheon’s deeply weird transhumanist story in a way that is largely satisfying if a bit unfocused. The plot falters as it picks up the pace to follow its millennia-spanning source material: Ken Liu’s short stories about a future where people achieve immortality by uploading their brains to the cloud. Though the visuals remain spectacular, too much time is devoted to characters and arcs that have little impact on a saga shaped by the somewhat visionary, somewhat destructive aims of the Steve Jobs-esque Stephen Holstrom (the late William Hurt in his final role).

As Holstrom clone Caspian Keyes (Paul Dano) works with tech prodigy Maddie Kim (Katie Chang) to correct a flaw that will allow uploaded intelligences (UIs) to achieve true immortality, they spend much of season 2 trying to figure out who deserves that power – while other uploads seek to claim it for themselves. Uploaded astronaut Joey Coupet (Anika Noni Rose) felt like the least necessary part of season 1, and the weak payoff of Caspian and Maddie’s attempt to turn her into the cloud’s superhero in season 2 only makes her character feel more unnecessary.

Maddie and Caspian’s quest also introduces them to a host of other UIs who also have little impact besides losing to the season’s villains to show the situation is serious. While there’s some charm to an espionage romance plot involving uploaded Iranian scientist Dr. Farhad Karimi (Navid Negahban) and MI6 researcher Dr. Olivia Evans (Lara Pulver), season 2 gets incredibly hamfisted when it brings in Mossad UI Yair Gispan (Mark Ivanir) for a plot about brokering peace in the Middle East that has aged very poorly in light of the war in Gaza.

The creation of the cure has the unintentional side effect of producing the world’s first computational intelligence, MIST (Thomasin McKenzie), who is one of the highlights of season 2. Childlike but extremely powerful, she seeks to understand her connection to humanity and build her own future while toddling around in a robot body, producing some antics reminiscent of Black Mirror’s “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too.” MIST embodies Pantheon at its best, using hard science fiction to explore deeply human concepts like grief, love and family.

Pantheon season 2 truly shines when it embraces its cerebral side. One of its best scenes is a quiet discussion between season 1 villain/vengeful rogue UI Vinod Chanda (Raza Jaffrey) and the Chinese political prisoner-turned-UI Han Ping (Clyde Kusatu). Unfortunately, those characters are quickly relegated to playing reluctant lieutenants in Holstrom’s plans, complete with new demonic looks to represent their fallen status.

While Hurt does a phenomenal job of embodying the arrogant contempt of Holstrom, his turn as the main antagonist fails to distinguish itself from the other tech bro villains who have come to dominate Hollywood. His scheme to encourage uploading by making the real world intolerable is especially unimpressive given how many characters show a willingness to make the transition early in the season without added incentive. It also replaces a far more compelling and topical idea of manipulating public sentiment through social media with a generic race-against-time plot that feels cribbed from James Bond or Mission Impossible. In the process, Holstrom’s better ideas – like recruiting MIST or attacking the very concept of nostalgia – fall by the wayside.

The anime-inspired animation from Titmouse is absolutely stunning. The details are always sharp, whether they’re capturing the condensation on a glass of water or the anything-goes nature of combat in the cloud. Drawing on imagery from The Matrix, The Terminator, and Dragon Ball Z, Pantheon’s battles are incredibly creative, demonstrating the ways the characters think of themselves and their limits as they tear apart the virtual environment and each other. The animators also do a great job adding depth to the characters: Caspian’s perpetually haggard appearance is nicely complimented by Dano’s flat affect, and the way characters age in the real world and reinvent themselves in the virtual one subtly reflects their personal growth and how they view their truest selves.

Some of the big ideas in Pantheon have already been explored by Black Mirror, Upload, and Devs, but Pantheon is remarkable in its willingness to push the envelope to cosmic levels while still feeling true to its protagonists. The show acknowledges that building a better future for humanity will be a messy complicated process, and its portrayal of that transition is also imperfect. But as a time of rising instability and technological anxiety, its message about our species’ potential to evolve feels powerfully relevant and beautiful.

Microsoft has delayed Fable from its 2025 release window to some point in 2026, while also providing a first look at brand new gameplay.

Fable is the upcoming reboot of the Xbox franchise made famous by the now defunct Lionhead Studios. It’s in the works at UK studio Playground, which is known for the much-loved Forza Horizon series of driving games.

In the latest episode of the Xbox Podcast, Craig Duncan (formerly Rare studio head who took over as head of Xbox Game Studios last fall) moved to reassure fans that this new Fable game is “definitely worth the wait.”

“I just want to start with, really excited about progress,” Duncan began. “Really excited about where Playground are. We previously announced the date for Fable as 2025. We are actually going to give Fable more time, and it’s going to ship in 2026 now.

“While I know that’s not maybe the news people want to hear, what I want to assure people of is that it’s definitely worth the wait. I have unequivocal confidence in the Playground team. If you think about their history and legacy for Forza Horizon, the last few games, critically acclaimed, 92 Metacritic, award-winning, beautiful, play great.

"And just what they’re bringing to Fable as a franchise, just think of the visuals of what you expect of Playground games plus amazing gameplay, British humor, Playground’s version of Albion. So inspired by what’s gone before with the franchise but their take, in quite frankly the most beautifully realized version of Albion you’ve ever seen.

“So really excited about the plans, and really excited about the future. I want the community to understand that we do these things for the best of the games and the teams, and ultimately that results in the best game for the community.”

In the same breath as announcing the delay, Microsoft revealed 50 seconds of brand new pre-alpha gameplay showing Fable combat, some city walking scenes, a clip of the main character riding a horse through a fantasy-styled forest area, and of course, kicking a chicken. The admittedly brief gameplay gives us a decent idea of what Playground is going for here, as well as the visual fidelity Duncan mentioned on the podcast.

We see combat with a one-handed sword, a two-handed hammer, a two-handed sword, and what looks like a fireball magic attack. One cutscene shows a man laying some sausages inside a trap. It emerges this is to entice a werewolf-type creature, who the main character subsequently fights.

Playground’s revival of the fantasy role-playing game series was announced in 2020 as a “new beginning.” 2023’s Xbox Game Showcase then gave us a better idea of what to expect with a reveal courtesy of The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade. Then, last year, Microsoft showed its Fable reboot once more, this time with a new trailer during its Xbox Showcase event in June 2024.

This reboot is the first mainline Fable game since 2010's Fable 3 and one of Xbox Game Studios' biggest upcoming titles.

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.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Avowed’s second region, Emerald Stair.

The second act of Avowed ends tragically. Fior mes Ivèrno, the town at the centre of the Emerald Stair region, burns to the ground. Its people, already pushed to the edge of starvation thanks to failed harvests, are driven from their homeland by the tyrannical Steel Garotte, an army of fanatical paladins from the invading Aedyr Empire. When the flames finally fade, the city is removed from your map, its ruins occupied by the paladins who razed it.

But this is an Obsidian game. And so, as the developer’s tradition of branching storylines and player choice dictates, there is a way to prevent the town from burning. But unlike most choice-supporting RPGs, this isn’t achieved via completing an opposing mission branch. There simply isn’t a quest to stop this event from happening. Instead, the Steel Garotte is hidden in the region, plotting the town’s downfall, and it’s up to you to find them without instruction or waypoint. It’s an incredibly organic approach to altering the course of Avowed’s story, rewarding curiosity and authentic choices as opposed to the simple obedience of following an objective list in a journal.

There is no storyteller on Earth like Junji Ito. Since his professional manga debut in 1987, he's been terrifying readers with his macabre tales and chillingly iconic creations. The brilliantly talented mangaka has rightfully become one of the most well known horror storytellers of his generation, and for good reason. Junji Ito's beautifully illustrated comics hide deep, devastating secrets, and each tale he weaves haunts and horrifies in the most unique way.

Junji Ito Collections

To narrow down Junji Ito's massive oeuvre to just 13 of his most bone-chilling offerings was no easy feat. While most of the scariest Junji Ito's short stories can be found as scans online, his short stories are also compiled into physical collections. Some collections, like Tomie and Uzumaki, contain stories that follow a specific narrative, while others, like Shiver and Smashed, include standalone stories collected by theme.

The Scariest Junji Ito Stories

From ominous ghost stories, heart-twisting gothic horror, and grotesquely bizarre modern fables, here are the 13 most terrifying stories from one of the masters of horror manga, Junji Ito.

13. The Beautiful Boy at the Crossroads

Ito often writes of love and how it can curse us. The first--and throughline--story from his Lovesickness collection is a great example of just that. We meet Ryusuke on a train. The teen boy is moving back to his hometown after years away, but the simple notion of it haunts him.

The devastating reason for that will soon be revealed, but in the meantime, his arrival coincides with a trend of young women seeking out "crossroads fortunes." Soon the bodies of school girls who ask strangers for their fortunes begin to turn up brutally murdered; but who is to blame? How does it connect with Ryusuke's pass? This wonderfully chilly mystery is one of the most memorable of Ito's tales and introduces one of his scariest creations.

12. Village of the Siren

Turning his hand to folk horror, Ito crafts another bleak homecoming in Village of the Siren. In the wake of a strange phone call from his parents and an ominous apparition at his window, Kyochi decides it's time for a family reunion. Alas, when he returns he finds that the once lively--though rural--village has turned into a ghost town.

Life now revolves around a strange factory of unknown origin, and even weirder are the all-consuming sirens that emanate from it each night. If you love a story about strange rituals, unusual cults, and the occult then this is the sort of story you'll gobble right up. If you enjoy horror that breaks taboos, then you'll certainly be satisfied as the death count here is huge and features a rarely seen demographic of victims.

11. I Don't Want to Be a Ghost

When Shigeru kindly picks up a beautiful wandering woman from the side of a road, his life is changed. Although Shigeru worries at first about her bloodied and disoriented state, she explains it away. Days later, the two begin a secretive affair despite the fact that Shigeru is married and expecting a baby. Blinded by his new acquaintance's beauty, he's willing to overlook how often his lover appears covered in blood and the fact that she claims to "love his ghosts." Her real desires are darker than anyone could have foreseen and Shigeru of course doesn't realize until too late.

10. The Strange Hikizuri Siblings

One of the funniest of Ito's creations, this bleakly humorous slice of life story follows an unhinged set of siblings who take great pleasure in tormenting and terrorizing each other and unsuspecting victims. Over two tales collected in Lovesickness, we meet some of the unlucky people who come into their path including an old school friend of their most beautiful member and a photographer. While their schemes can have deadly consequences, the Hikizuri siblings are generally rather hapless, though you wouldn't want to be invited to their table for dinner.

9. The Mystery of the Haunted House

The arrival of a haunted house turns a town upside down when derision turns to terror as each new visitor enters its doors. Two young boys become entangled in the proprietor's twisted games after they try to sneak in for free. Upon exploring the ghoulish halls they discover a true house of horrors, one filled with victims who claim to be the owner's family.

There's a dark comedy to this one, which comes from another of Ito's recurring characters, the scheming creeper Souichi Tsujii. But there's nothing funny about his heinous crimes. The Mystery of the Haunted House is a wild ride that will delight fans of haunt culture.

8. Honored Ancestors

Family often comes up in Ito's tale, and Honored Ancestors might feature his most psychedelically deranged yet. On a seemingly normal evening Risa is brought home by her close friend Makata who claims that the young girl is suffering from amnesia and couldn't remember where she lived. According to doctors, her amnesia has been caused by immense emotional stress.

Risa becomes more and more distressed as she becomes haunted by visions of a giant caterpillar... but what does it all mean? The truth revolves around Makata and his family's strange traditions which are revealed in Ito's dementedly awful fashion as the tale comes to a close. It's one family reunion that you'll never forget, though you'll wish you could.

7. Uzumaki

Likely the most famous of Ito's many works, Uzumaki has been deemed a classic for a reason. Weaving a supernatural curse into a ghost story that centers around a small town, Kurouzu-cho, which is haunted not by spirits but instead by spirals, this is a uniquely spooky tale. It also helps that Ito's distinctive linework does an epic job of making the usually unassuming shapes into something utterly terrifying.

Uzumaki features many of Ito's favorite themes like obsession, paranoia, and the mundane becoming utterly bizarre. The impact of Uzumaki cannot be overstated, with multiple video game and film adaptations and a highly-anticipated anime adaptation in development. You can check out our review of the first episode of the Uzumaki anime to see what we thought.

6. Fashion Model

While many of Ito's stories are slow burn haunters, this is a more in your face horror tale that reveals its monster from the earliest pages. Like our next entry, Tomie, Fashion Model has become one of Ito's most popular long-running tales. When a young man sees a bizarre model in a magazine whose mouth is filled with dagger-like teeth, he becomes consumed by her image. He can't stop thinking about her, about why she was hired, and why she fills him with an all-consuming existential terror.

Life moves on, and he and some friends begin casting for a student film. It's here that the model reemerges back to the forefront of his life in brutal and all too real fashion. This is a great entry into both the Ito and monster horror canon.

5. Tomie

Probably Ito's most famous creation, the stunningly beautiful Tomie was murdered by her classmates only to reappear the next day. Since then she's been terrorizing readers and lovestruck men for years. There's a collected edition of Tomie tales where you can read her story from her earliest to most recent appearances, and each one is more delightfully dark than the last. Her ever shifting true face is the thing of nightmares, but Ito's striking illustration style has also made her a perennial pop culture figure.

Even if you've never read an Ito story, you've likely already seen Tomie as a sticker, tattoo, or t-shirt. Ironically, in her stories it's near impossible to catch her beauty in an image unless you want to see her true face too.

4. House of the Marionettes

Puppets have always held a particularly creepy place in horror and Ito uses that to his advantage here in this ghastly story about a strange family obsessed with marionettes. It all begins when a young girl named Kinuko befriends the son of a family of puppeteers. Becoming close with one of the two sons, Haruhiko, she visits the home immediately becoming wary of a large marionette named Jean-Pierre.

Years later Haruhiko and Kinuko reconnect and get married. But when they're called back to the former's family home, they make an awful discovery. This is one of the most classical of Ito's stories, but it will still shock and surprise at every turn.

3. Used Record

Eerie and atmospheric, Used Record tells the story of an odd record which hypnotizes and entices the listener. When Ogawa buys the vinyl, she quickly becomes obsessed as does her friend Nakayama when she hears it. Soon, all the pair can do is listen to the song again and again. But there's only one copy, which means that the girls are on a tragic path.

The thing that makes this story so terrifying is the relatable fact that we've all had that one song that we can't stop listening to. Ito just takes it to the next, supernaturally nightmarish level. And for that reason, this wonderfully drawn tale ends up being just as addictive as the song at its center.

2. Greased

Growing up above her family's barbeque restaurant by Mount Fuji, Yui is sick of the grease that has slowly but surely accumulated, coating their home. While she worries abouts its effects, her violent and abusive brother Goro embraces the cooking oil that creates it, drinking it from the bottle until his face becomes covered in large, grotesque pustules.

Goro's obsession with the grease and his sister's hopes of surviving it are deeply entangled in this, one of Ito's most stomach-churning tales which will threaten both your lunch and your sleep cycle. Truly, this is the kind of story you have to mentally prepare to read, so don't take checking this one out lightly.

1. The Hanging Balloons

What makes The Hanging Balloons Ito's scariest story? Well, it's one of his most bizarre--which is where the mangaka excels -- and it also manages to feel utterly claustrophobic and inescapable in the best way. After the unexpected suicide of a celebrity school girl inspires a spate of copycat deaths, people begin to report seeing imposing balloons in the sky.

But these are no ordinary balloons. In fact, reports claim it's the giant inflated head of the woman who died. Many more of the balloons soon appear, chasing those whose faces they wear. Instead of strings, metal nooses swing beneath them. What is their purpose? If they catch up with those who they resemble, they catch and hang them... This is a psychedelic night terror come to life.

What's Next for Junji Ito?

Mass Effect fans, this is a preorder you definitely don't want to miss: the massive Mass Effect Trilogy original soundtrack collection on vinyl is now available to preorder for $120.99 (see it at Amazon). It's set to release on July 11 this year and comes complete with a whopping 85 tracks to enjoy from across the trilogy.

Preorder the Mass Effect Trilogy Soundtrack Vinyl

While we don't know what color the discs are yet, the package itself looks like it'll be a nice addition to a vinyl collection with a sleek design boasting the N7 logo. We've included more images below to give you a better look at it.

This isn't the only vinyl collection of a gaming classic up for preorder, either. The original Halo trilogy soundtrack on vinyl is also available to preorder right now, if you want to build out your collection with even more iconic gaming music. This one is set to release on April 4 as well, so you won't have much longer to wait until you can get your hands on it.

Outside of preorders, if you're curious to see the latest gaming deals available at the moment, have a look through our Daily Deals roundup to see what's caught our eye recently. Or, if you'd prefer a more focused look at what deals are available on each platform right now, check out our roundups of the best PlayStation deals, the best Xbox deals, and the best Nintendo Switch deals.

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

IGN has an exclusive first look at Hasbro's latest addition to the G.I. Joe Classified line, and it's a doozy. This new box set features Cobra villain Zartan and his Dreadnoks decked out in full heavy metal regalia as the band Cold Slither.

The G.I. Joe Classified: Dreadnoks Cold Slither - Band of Vipers action figure set is based on a classic episode of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and will be one of Hasbro's exclusive items at San Diego Comic-Con this summer. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at this incredible set:

The Cold Slither set includes 6-inch figures of Zartan, Ripper, Buzzer, and Torch, all decked out for the Band of Vipers World Tour concert. The set comes with no fewer than 29 accessories, including various musical instruments like a guitar, bass, keytar, and drum set. Even the packaging is designed to recreate the Springfield Theater.

This box set will be sold exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con, which runs from July 24-27, 2025. As with all Hasbro exclusives, limited quantities will be made available on the Hasbro Pulse website after the show.

For those that prefer a more retro approach to G.I. Joe figures, Hasbro is also teaming with Super7 to bring Cold Slither Zartan to Super7's ReAction+ line. This 3.75-inch figure is modeled after the classic A Real American Hero toys, complete with O-Ring construction and vintage-style packaging. The figure glows in the dark when exposed to UV light and comes with microphone and guitar accessories.

The Cold Slither Zartan ReAction+ figure is priced at $20 and will be available for preorder on the Super7 website beginning on April 3 and 9:15am PT.

Finally, Hasbro is really leaning into the musical theme by releasing an actual Cold Slither album. The company is teaming with Reigning Phoenix Music to bring the band to life. Here's the official description of the Cold Slither album:

In 2025, Cold Slither, the iconic heavy metal rock band from G.I. Joe lore, are releasing their highly anticipated debut album. Headlined by the phenomenal self-titled anthem “Cold Slither,” the album delivers 10 electrifying tracks that blend searing distorted guitar riffs, pounding rhythms, and irresistibly catchy, anthemic choruses.

In other Hasbro news, we recently got an exclusive first look at their Transformers Liokaiser Combiner figure, which is currently being crowdfunded on HasLab. You can also check out the many collectibles available on the IGN Store.

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

Pew Pew Games has announced its first game, Terminull Brigade, a free-to-play co-op roguelike shooter for PC with a distinct and colorful art style that offers distinct (and customizable) playstyles. A closed beta test is expected soon.

In Terminull Brigade, you fight against AI as one of the Rogueteers, such as Blade, Heynckes, and Aurora in fast-paced third-person shooter combat. You'll equip perks on each run to uniquely customize your playstyle, with each run building up to a big boss battle that will require precision teamwork.

“We are incredibly proud to introduce Terminull Brigade to the world,” said Game Design Director Ning Ni. “Our team has poured their passion into crafting an experience that brings fresh excitement to PvE shooter and roguelike fans alike. We can't wait to see players step into the Nullverse and lead the charge against the invading AI forces.”

The developers at Pew Pew Games promise regular content updates and seasonal challenges. Wishlist it on Steam if you're interested: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3104410/Terminull_Brigade/

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

After the past few years of hit-and-miss business sims I had convinced myself that the real heyday of tycoon games was back in the ‘90s, but Two Point Museum may have finally changed my mind. It's not a huge, revolutionary departure from Two Point Studios' recent run of quirky games, Hospital and Campus, but this time they've finally perfected the recipe. With its varied and challenging management layer, tons of cool props and exhibits to unlock, and a refreshingly dry sense of humor, I sometimes had a hard time dragging myself away from it.

The thing that impresses me most about Two Point Museum compared to other recent games like Planet Coaster 2 is that it actually seems interested in challenging you to manage the finances of your operation as you’re building and decorating it. And maybe I’m a nerd, but that's at least half the reason I like these kinds of games. It's actually difficult to build a money printer that you can simply walk away from, but also not so punishing that I frequently got myself into big trouble that I couldn't wiggle my way out of. The balance, when it comes to juggling my balance sheets, feels just about… balanced.

There are lots of useful tools to help you pull this off. The whole interface seems cleverly built to group relevant information together, and makes it really easy to quickly take action on common problems. The Pay Review screen for your staff is a great example. I can sort everyone in the museum by how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with their salary, then adjust it with a slider without having to even open up another menu. Then you get to watch their satisfaction change almost immediately, all from that screen. It's so effortless to navigate all of these complex considerations when so much thought has been put into how to organize it all in a way that makes my job more convenient.

Whether I'm setting up a new exhibit or decorating the employee break room, everything is done in Two Point's whimsical, cartoony, almost claymation-like style. I might be displaying a fossil of a floppy disk or artifacts from a planet inhabited by cheese-loving aliens, but Museum leans into it all. Admittedly, I've never been particularly charmed by this schtick in previous Two Point games, and I'm still not. But at least it's distinct and consistent. And the PA announcements are often actually quite funny. "Bored guests are reminded that not everything has to be a party, okay?"

Changing the focus from running a school or hospital to a museum does Two Point a lot of favors, though. When my goal is to impress my guests using elaborate displays, lots of little decorations, and floor plans that make sure they have to exit through the gift shop, I find myself zooming way down and paying a lot of attention to how everything might look at eye-level. On one of my favorite maps, I got to design a haunted house experience complete with cursed artifacts and, eventually, actual ghosts who can break out and cause mayhem if they don't get their weekly therapy appointment. So yeah, “simulation” is used a bit loosely here, and Two Point is all too happy to embrace goofiness over reality. It works!

Each of the different museums has its own thematic and interesting challenges like this. In one, I was searching the seas for exotic fish to add to my wall-to-wall underwater wonderland. In another, I had to learn the mysterious symbology of an alien race to activate adjacency bonuses for my exhibits. What’s especially cool about that is the differences between each of these are so great that it's almost like you're getting multiple games in one: Two Point Aquarium, Two Point Planetarium, and Two Point Haunted Hotel. This kept things fresh and exciting well into my career – especially when my objectives started encouraging me to mix themes and disciplines from more than one area.

Acquiring artifacts to show off and bring in crowds of gawkers involves unlocking and undertaking expeditions to everywhere from fossil-littered canyons to the far reaches of outer space. You have to manage the skills and traits of different staff members to unlock new ways of minimizing danger and maximizing rewards. It seems simple at first, but there's a lot of depth buried here.

And all of that harmonizes so well with the ways your staff can train and specialize at different tasks back home. An assistant who has a perk that allows them to move around quicker on the museum floor might also be able to remove a random event from an expedition that could cause injury or even "MIA" – functionally, death.

There's a great progression from simpler, quicker, and lower-risk outings that bring back much less impressive attractions to long, deadly, and elaborate ones that can require several high-skill staff members and craftable items to tackle. The option to go for a Quick, Safe, or Detailed approach adds more strategy and nuance; increasing the survey level of a site also increases the chances of getting higher-rarity versions of your exhibits, and that presents a compelling reason to come back to places you've already been.

This further ties into the satisfying unlock system, in which breaking down copies of exhibits you already have will increase your knowledge level for that exhibit and make your museum more educational. And while general museum decorations are still unlocked with Kudosh, the achievement-based career currency making a return from Two Point Hospital and Campus, specifically themed decorations for a science or space museum only come from studying artifacts from that theme. There's so much to unlock that I never felt like I hit a point where I wasn't being rewarded for my time, even after more than 40 hours.

The only major part of the Two Point Museum formula I didn't love was dealing with crime. As your museum becomes more prestigious and displays higher-value items, it will increasingly be targeted by thieves and vandals who can really ruin your day, up to and including stealing entire attractions that may have taken hours to acquire and level up. Hiring more security guards and having one permanently posted up at each entrance is usually enough to deter most evildoers. But you're supposed to eventually set up camera rooms that I felt have too small of a coverage range, which monitor cameras that don't protect very much floor space and conflict with a lot of other necessary wall items. It gets to the point where I found it frustrating to find space to cram them in. As Ben Franklin once said, those who would give up essential wall space to purchase a little temporary security deserve neither.

You can at least turn crime off in the Sandbox mode, which features a lot of other difficulty customization as well. That's really nice for long-term play. This is where you go if you want to run a museum that relies mostly on donations and grant money, and not even have to worry about charging an entry fee. There are settings for that as well.

This is all set to a chill, vibe-y soundtrack that keeps me in the zone and jamming. It can vary from one map to the next, but it's always low-key, soothing, and upbeat.

Tekken 8 has sold 3 million copies a year from release, Bandai Namco has announced.

The company said it had achieved the sales milestone at a faster pace than Tekken 7, which has so far sold 12 million copies worldwide 10 years after launch.

Tekken 8 had sold 2 million units a month after going on sale in January 2024, so it’s sold an additional 1 million units in the last 12 months.

“We hope that everyone will stick with us, as we have a lot of cool stuff planned to keep the franchise going,” Bandai Namco said during a live stream update.

For context in the fighting game world, NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 1 is now up to 5 million copies sold, having gone on sale in September 2023, and Capcom’s Street fighter 6 is on 4.4 million units, having gone on sale June 2023. Tekken 8 has a way to go before matching its competitors, then.

Meanwhile, Bandai Namco announced Anna Williams as the next Tekken 8 DLC character. She launches on March 31 for Character Year 2 Pass owners and April 3 for all.

As part of the roadmap of support for Tekken 8’s second year, summer 2025 will see a new stage and character, fall 2025 a new character, and winter 2025 / 2026 a new stage and character. That’s a total of four DLC characters for Season 2.

It’s not been all plain sailing for Tekken 8. In December, Tekken 8 boss Katsuhiro Harada stepped into a row over the sale of a premium DLC stage after fans accused Bandai Namco of “corporate greed.”

Alongside the release of DLC character Heihachi Mishima and the accompanying free story mode expansion, Bandai Namco sold the Genmaji Temple stage for $4.99, sparking a backlash from fans who had expected the stage to be made available for free — as the stage that accompanied the release of prior DLC character Lidia Sobieska was.

Harada ended up saying he needed to reorganize not only the Tekken business but his role within it to ensure community expectations were met in the future.

IGN’s Tekken 8 review returned a 9/10. We said: “Tekken 8 is an incredible evolution for the series, with tons of single player content, an excellent suite of training tools, a great online experience, and exciting new mechanics that make Tekken more dynamic than ever.”

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.

Star Wars: Eclipse developer Quantic Dream has released a statement as reports circulate that Chinese megacorp NetEase was looking to sell off its overseas gaming businesses.

With mass layoffs, cancellations, and shutdowns for multiple years now, NetEase's reported withdrawal from western video game development is concerning, particularly given a number of expensive and high-profile games have flopped in spite of high company expectations.

However, in a statement posted to LinkedIn, Quantic Dream CEO and head of publishing, Guillaume de Fondaumière, said he was "deeply saddened to learn about the recent layoffs and studio closures affecting some of the NetEase group’s divisions," but assured players that Quantic's studios in Paris and Montreal remain "unaffected."

"[Quantic president] David Cage and I would like to express our gratitude to the fans and friends who have reached out to us in recent days regarding Quantic Dream," de Fondaumière wrote. "We want to reassure everyone that our studios in Paris and Montreal remain unaffected. We are continuing to develop our projects at full pace, with several open positions available in both locations."

de Fondaumière added that despite NetEase acquiring Quantic Dream as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2022, "Quantic Dream remains committed to the strategy outlined by David and I in 2019," insisting "NetEase has been a dedicated partner, providing us with creative freedom and the financial resources necessary for our studio to grow and strive."

The CEO also revealed the studio's back-catalog had seen an "exceptional performance," contributing to the "highest revenue in [the company's] history" in 2024.

"The developments of our current projects are progressing as planned, and we are fully committed to delivering and launching these innovative, high-quality titles in the future," de Fondaumière said, but did not provide any specific update on its upcoming Star Wars game, Star Wars: Eclipse.

In a statement to IGN, a rep from NetEase Games’ Global Public Relations Department said:

"As far as overseas business efforts are concerned, NetEase has not wavered in its global expansion plans. Our 'two-pronged' approach (combining self-research and investments to explore global markets), is still actively progressing and yielding positive results.

"For titles developed by the self-owned studios, we successfully launched games like Once Human and Marvel Rivals in 2024. These projects demonstrate NetEase’s ability, along with our talented development teams, to produce high-quality games loved by players worldwide. For 2025, we have an extensive pipeline of titles in development, featuring a variety of genres, including FragPunk, ANANTA and more.

"As part of our investment strategy, every decision was based purely on business evaluations and was not influenced by other factors. Our studios in North America, the UK, Spain, France, and Japan all continue to refine and develop their ongoing game projects.

"The company continues to invest in our global business and actively recruits and nurtures talent. At the same time, organizational structure changes aimed at improving performance are a necessary part of our ongoing growth.

"[CEO] Mr. Ding stated on the recent earnings call that NetEase is committed to supporting really high-quality studios and master creators. That is the company’s strategy, and there is no change in this plan. For any studio globally, it behooves us as a responsible commercial business to frequently evaluate the progress, viability and potential for success of our products and teams."

When pressed for an update specifically regarding NetEase subsidiary studios Nagoshi Studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, Pincool, GPTRACK50, and Quantic Dream, the NetEase Games rep added:

"For the studios you specifically pointed out, I haven’t heard any changes so far. As planned, we are expecting to bring some of the titles to the public this year."

In reference to the closure of Visions of Mana developer Ouka Studios, NetEase said: "It’s a self-owned studio, instead of a first-party or invested one. The studio’s challenging financial situation led to significant losses. We carefully considered every option under the circumstances and took the decision process very seriously."

Just last week, we learned that despite netting 40 million players and securing millions for developer NetEase, Marvel Rivals was nearly canceled as Ding was reportedly reluctant to pay for the rights to use licensed IP. NetEase recently laid off the Marvel Rivals director and its Seattle-based design team.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Call of Duty maker Activision has finally admitted to using generative AI in the development of Black Ops 6, nearly three months after fans had accused the company of creating an “AI slop” Zombie Santa loading screen.

In December, following the release of the Season 1 Reloaded update, fans noticed a number of telltale signs in Black Ops 6 loading screens, calling cards, and art used to explain how Zombies community events work.

At the centre of the backlash was a loading screen image of Zombie Santa, aka 'Necroclaus,' which some said showed the undead Father Christmas with six fingers. Generative AI often struggles with hands, adding extra fingers where they shouldn't be.