It's now confirmed: a fresh Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase presentation will air this week, featuring updates on Switch and Switch 2 games from third-party publishers.

Nintendo announced the broadcast on social media today, and confirmed the show will last 25 minutes.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow, Thursday July 31 at 6am Pacific / 9am Eastern / 2pm UK time — and, as ever, IGN will be reporting on all of the announcements as they happen.

Join us for a #NintendoDirect Partner Showcase tomorrow, July 31, at 6am PT! Tune in for roughly 25 minutes of information on upcoming #NintendoSwitch2 and #NintendoSwitch games from our publishing partners.

Watch here: https://t.co/PvBBmmxGTI pic.twitter.com/8hJBngwXHw

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 30, 2025

With Switch 2 launched, alongside Mario Kart World and brilliant new platformer Donkey Kong Bananza, attention now turns to the rest of the new console's first year on sale — and support from the platform's third-party publishers.

As a Partner Showcase event, tomorrow's broadcast will likely feature no new games from Nintendo itself. Instead, be on the lookout for more news on games coming from other publishers. Switch 2 already has solid support, with upcoming big hitters such as Borderlands 4 and 007 First Light previously confirmed for the platform. But what else might tomorrow bring?

Could we see more of Hollow Knight Silksong, perhaps, before its playable demo at Gamescom — and maybe even get a release date? Will FromSoftware show more of its Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods, set for arrival in 2026? And might Activision finally tell everyone what's going on with Call of Duty coming to Nintendo platforms?

Time, and also this Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, will tell. See you tomorrow!

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

The Naked Gun opens in theaters Friday, August 1.

The Naked Gun is stupid. I say this with all my heart and in every sense of the word: The 2025 update of the classic police-movie spoofs starring Leslie Nielsen is idiotic, asinine, and downright preposterous. And its parade of slapstick, sight gags, and deadpan wordplay had me grinning ear to ear. This is a movie that subjects the Oscar-nominated star of Schindler’s List to a battery of humiliations that include, but are not limited to, extended scenes of intestinal distress, visual sexual innuendo, and interactions with multiple, intentionally janky-looking puppets. I liked all 85 minutes of it, and I can’t wait to see it again just to pick up any of the punchlines I laughed over or funny little signs I overlooked.

Stupid was the name of the game when Nielsen played boneheaded cop Frank Drebin in six episodes of the brilliant-yet-canceled Police Squad! and its three big-screen spin-offs. And it remains so with Liam Neeson in the role of boneheaded cop Frank Drebin Jr. The fearless foolishness of the new Naked Gun begins with casting Neeson because his name kinda sorta sounds like Nielsen’s, and doesn’t let up until the last fake, pun-laden credit rolls. But as proven by every sweaty genre parody that popped up in Scary Movie’s wake, it takes genuine wit, talent, and inspiration to make a good movie out of something this dumb. Frank Jr. may be standing on the just-out-of-frame shoulders of spoof giants David Zucker, his brother Jerry, and their longtime collaborator Jim Abrahams, but he’s been hoisted up there by a guy who knows a good idea (hear him out, hear him out) when he sees one: The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer.

Schaffer’s primary upgrade to The Naked Gun formula is an added visual panache; as opposed to the flat, overlit, TV-like compositions preferred by Abrahams and the Zuckers, his camera swirls and swoops around Frank Jr., his Police Squad comrade Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) and femme fatale/true-crime author Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson). Taking the filmmaking so seriously only serves to underline the glorious absurdities unfolding within the frame: At one point, Neeson is locked in a frenetic punch-up that wouldn’t look out of place in a Taken sequel (or Taken knockoff) – until he pulls his adversary’s arms off and starts swinging them like flesh-and-bone nunchuks.

The gravitas that carried Neeson through both the “acclaimed star of prestigious period pictures” and “aging action-movie badass” phases of his career is trickier to wield. He’s fully committed to playing Frank’s obliviousness and delusions of heroism, never giving way to the shameless, cross-eyed mugging Nielsen was frequently guilty of. He expertly modulates into a higher register to, say, rant about DVR etiquette or wince through a chili-dog-induced bathroom emergency – but when he’s in beatdown mode, the goofus-turned-gallant contrast isn’t quite there. It’s almost like we need a gag as outrageous as the detachable arms (or the stream of bad guys queuing up behind a “take a number” stanchion that follows it) to remind us that this is, indeed, a comedy. Not exactly what you want from a franchise renowned for playing its funny business with the straightest face possible.

Fortunately, the vintage ZAZ spirit translates more cleanly in other areas. This thing is absolutely packed with jokes, not all of which call attention to themselves – several phony corporate logos and silly slogans linger in the foreground and background. (My favorite: The Crypto.com Arena-riffing name of the setting for a climactic MMA bout.) Frank is constantly being handed coffee cups from offscreen, with Schaffer and the props department making a meal of the cups’ size, where they’re deposited, and how they’re delivered. If a certain timeliness appears to be creeping into the humor via Danny Huston’s tech-mogul villain Richard Cane and the way his evil scheme subtly razzes the Hollywood reboot fever that made this Naked Gun possible, just remember that the second movie in the franchise pinned some of its laughs to the not-so-evergreen foibles of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Walter Mondale. More worrisome are references to the 2004 Super Bowl and the lineup of the Black Eyed Peas that, for all their non sequitur specificity, feel like they’re left over from drafts of earlier, circa 2010s attempts to bring Drebin out of cold storage.

Still, it’s hard to get too mad about a movie whose big, apocalyptic plot hinges on a gizmo identified onscreen as the P.L.O.T. Device. The Naked Gun’s hit-to-miss ratio is highly weighted toward the hits – and there’s a great variety to them, too. The “Cigarette?” “Yes, it is”-style setups pile up quickly (If I may shout out another favorite: “You can’t fight city hall.” “No, it’s a building.”), but they’re balanced with a couple of segments where Schaffer lets his freak flag fly at length. And while Hauser is largely stuck playing straight man to Frank’s nonsense – keeping him from the sort of lunacy that allowed his Mole Man to steal swaths of First Steps out from under the Fantastic Four – Anderson gets a couple of spotlight moments to go hilariously H.A.M. The path to her full-fledged, post-The Last Showgirl comeback runs through some on-point comedic scatting here.

For these and other reasons (I haven’t even gotten to the fun the script has with Frank’s hard-boiled voiceover narration) it’s tempting to overrate The Naked Gun for merely existing, for being itself – or, to paraphrase the musician who’s now appeared in all four Naked Guns, daring to be stupid. There’s nothing truly new about a new release that’s built on the bones of a comedy that came out in 1988 – but the general lack of major-studio comedies of this caliber in theaters in 2025 deepens the impression The Naked Gun leaves. It, like its predecessors and previous Schaffer efforts like Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, will thrive in living rooms and on laptops, where you’ll be able to pause and screenshot every last joke. But I can’t overstate how good it felt to laugh at those jokes in a dark room full of friends and strangers, where Liam Neeson’s naked butt (or that of a body double) was spread wide across a giant screen.

It’s a sad comment on the current state of movies, but there actually is some novelty to that experience. The new Naked Gun may not be a groundbreaking comedy classic, but in its own, silly way, it does feel important. It shows that something that’s this much of a lark can still be made with craft and care and maximum entertainment value. I hope we get to see more Naked Guns, and more movies like them. I hope they’re not sentenced to streaming purgatory. Because to stop making broad, unabashed comedies of this stripe, or to keep them from coming to a theater near you? Now that’d be really stupid.

Activision has finally dropped new details of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's fifth season.

Set to launch on August 7, Activision wants you to "unleash your inner action hero" courtesy of six new modes, four new and/or remastered maps, and a smorgasbord of new weapons, updates, and enemies across Black Ops 6, Zombies, and Warzone.

"The Rogue Black Ops team is finally back in the good graces of the CIA, and that means access to all the weapons and firepower they could ask for," the publisher teases. "It’s time to finish the job they started and crush the final Pantheon moles, putting their betrayal to rest once and for all."

In terms of maps, you'll find three new ones in Black Ops 6: Runway (6v6), Exchange (6v6, 2v2), the remastered World Motor Dynasty (WMD) (6v6), plus an in-season update is on the way for Jackpot (6v6). Warzone, on the other hand, gets a Stadium POI update in Verdansk.

New modes coming to Black Ops 6 are the headshot-tastic Aim High, Snipers Only, Cranked Moshpit, plus in-season updates to Cranked Demotion, Blueprint Gunfight, and Ransack. Warzone gets LTM modes Stadium Resurgence and Deadline.

Warzone gets new cosmetics, weapon attachments, bundles, and a number of limited-time events like 90 Action Heroes, Atomic Block Party, and Operation: Hell Ride "and more."

"Recent intelligence indicates a massive disruption across Verdansk is imminent, as recon teams have confirmed the existence of a clandestine military base hidden within the sealed walls of the National Acropolis Arena," Activision added. "The extent of the threat remains unclear, though a weapon capable of large-scale destruction is expected to be unearthed within the vicinity.

"Breach the stadium in possibly the most impressively explosive way possible as you and other enemy squads attempt race to complete the multi-step Satellite Hijack Contract. Infiltrate the Stadium by any means necessary, confirming the nefarious operations and hidden compound within."

As always, expect a plethora of rewards — charms, emblems, calling cards, stickers, and weapon skins — for those daring to step into ranked play, regards of whether you're jumping into Black Ops 6's multiplayer or Warzone's battle royale.

Activision added that it has now completed the second phase of testing Warzone's Casual Solos and Core Solos side-by-side, with results showing players are more than three times likely to step into Casual over Core. Consequently, as Season 5 rolls over, both Core and Casual will be available globally on day one, but within a couple of days, Core Solos will only remain an option for North American and European players — Casual will continue to be available for all.

"By tailoring playlists based on regional data, we’re ensuring that every Call of Duty: Warzone player gets the best possible experience, regardless of location," the publisher said. "This is the next step in refining how we build playlists that serve all Call of Duty: Warzone players. We’ll continue to evaluate performance and feedback as Season 05 rolls out."

Rounding out the update are some features for Zombies, including new map Reckoning and new Wonder Weapon Gorgofex, which combines fungal, floral, and insectile traits to "deliver precise impact damage and gravity-defying disruption in close quarters, glowing membranes on the weapon show hints of motion and circulation under the surface." You can also expect new field upgrade Mister Peeks, enemies Uber Klaus and Kommando Klaus, as well as new grief arenas and a shiny new combat bow for stealthy takedowns.

Earlier today, we learned that Activision unshackled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from the main Call of Duty HQ launcher. In a brief message posted to social media, publisher Activision confirmed people with either Modern Warfare 2 or 3 will be able to "access them directly" and without going into HQ first once they've redownloaded fresh installs of the shooter games.

Activision didn't give a reason for the change, but it's fair to suggest this is just a way of tidying up HQ ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's release later this year.

And while we're talking about the next Call of Duty game… Announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 last month, we know it'll feature the Skirmish and Overload multiplayer modes as well a 20v20 wingsuit option after details of a developer-only Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 playtest were accidentally released to all fans on the Call of Duty app last month.

That's not the only CoD-flavored news we had last month, either. Activision ended up pulling controversial adverts placed inside Black Ops 6 and Warzone loadouts, insisting they were a “feature test” published “in error.”

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

Activision has unshackled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from the main Call of Duty HQ launcher.

In a brief message posted to social media, publisher Activision confirmed players with either Modern Warfare 2 or 3 will be able to "access them directly" and without going into HQ first once they've redownloaded fresh installs of the shooter games.

Any legacy content relating to either game "within the main Call of Duty install" will be automagically removed come August 7 to "free up storage space," although a later tweet clarifies "Call of Duty: Warzone content such as MW2/MW3 operators and weapons will not be impacted by this change."

Call of Duty HQ is the platform from which Call of Duty games are launched, previously making it impossible to jump straight into Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, or battle royale Warzone via their own dedicated apps. Instead, players must log into Call of Duty HQ, find their game of choice via a Netflix-style launcher, then load the app. At the time, Call of Duty HQ was required to play either Modern Warfare 3, 2, or Warzone, and unlike parts of those games, Call of Duty HQ itself cannot be deleted if you want to play.

At the time, Activision said Call of Duty HQ "was developed to bring players benefits like Carry Forward, easier file size management, and more seamless switching between Call of Duty: Warzone and the latest annual releases," but that wasn't the reality many players reported, as getting to a selected game or mode could be really time-consuming, particularly with endless prompts to "update to restart." It also takes up a tremendous amount of space on console.

Activision didn't give a reason for the change, and it doesn't seem HQ haters are going to be relinquished of the launcher any time soon, but it's fair to suggest this is just a way of tidying up HQ ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's release later this year.

As for the next Call of Duty game? Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — which was announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 last month — is the first ever consecutive release within the Black Ops sub-series. Matt Cox, General Manager of Call of Duty, insisted that “as a team, our vision from the start was to create a back-to-back series experience for our players that embraced the uniqueness of the Black Ops sub-franchise.” It's set to star Milo Ventimiglia, Kiernan Shipka, and Michael Rooker, with Ventimiglia portraying David Mason, Shipka as new character Emma Kagen, and Rooker reprising his Black Ops 2 role of Mike Harper.

We know it'll feature the Skirmish and Overload multiplayer modes as well a 20v20 wingsuit option as details of a developer-only Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 playtest were accidentally released to all fans on the Call of Duty app. Whoops.

Last month, Activision pulled controversial adverts placed inside Black Ops 6 and Warzone loadouts, insisting they were a “feature test” published “in error.” It’s worth remembering that Black Ops 6 is a premium, $70 game, and this year’s Black Ops 7 is expected to jump to $80 after Microsoft said that gamers will see Xbox charging $79.99 for new, first-party games around the holiday season.

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

Crunchyroll’s annual Summer Sale has arrived. From July 30 to August 26, the Crunchyroll Store is offering thousands of items on sale across anime merch and physical media. In case you were wondering, yes, the deals stack with existing Crunchyroll member discounts.

The Summer Sale is a great opportunity to get your favorite anime on Blu-ray, pick up some physical manga, or grab a figure of your favorite character. You might even be able to find the perfect accessory for your next cosplay.

Crunchyroll Summer Sale Is Now Live

Crunchyroll Summer Sale: Week One Highlights

If you’re currently watching the new season of My Dress-Up Darling (Marin my love), you can pick up discounted physical volumes of the original manga. The Blu-ray version of potentially my favorite anime of all time, the 1997 adaptation of Berserk, has also dropped by 25%.

On the apparel side, you’ll find tons of cosplay-ready accessories and anime-themed graphic tees. I grew up a Bulls fan, so I have to mention the NBA’s crossover gear with My Hero Academia. The collection, created by Hyperfly, happens to include a clean satin Chicago Bulls-themed jacket with a graphic of the iconic All Might himself. Who knew he was a baller?

Of course, tons of figures are included in the sale, which are some of the best deals to grab considering these are typically in limited stock. You’ll find action-packed poses from Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer, though a personal standout for me is the absolutely adorable figure of Anya Forger from SPY x FAMILY.

Crunchyroll Members Can Stack Discounts

Aside from getting access to one of the best anime streaming services, Crunchyroll members also get tiered discounts on the Crunchyroll store. These discounts stack on top of the existing deals from the Summer Sale, so Mega Fan Crunchyroll subscribers can get up to an additional 15% off.

If you’ve put down your controller this year to go touch a very particular patch of grass, you might have noticed that something strange is going on at the world’s major film festivals. It started in May, when a film adaptation of virally-successful Japanese indie game Exit 8 premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival – the first videogame movie to do so. The film’s director, Genki Kawamura, gives his source material a compelling structural spin, appealing equally to the arthouse crowd and to game fans. But live-action adaptations of video games are, of course, nothing new.

That’s why Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Cinematic Cut is so interesting. It is not a live-action adaptation of developer Warhorse Studios’ critically-acclaimed RPG. Instead, it is an abridged and reformatted version of Act One of the game itself, presenting a newly-edited blend of the open-world game’s cutscenes and gameplay in a two-hour linear form. It was perhaps the strangest Special Presentation at this month’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic – a unique cross-format experiment. One that wasn’t Warhorse’s idea.

“It all happened at the official launch of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2,” explains KVIFF artistic director, Karel Och. “The first contact was made through a mutual friend, and Warhorse and KVIFF made each other understand that they wanted to collaborate at some point. During the following months, it was exciting to have a glimpse of what Warhorse represents – and I dare to say the same goes for our friends from the top of the gaming business.”

Warhorse’s communications director, Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, concurs. “They wanted to make the festival more modern and interesting – to offer something new”. The largest film festival in Eastern Europe, KVIFF attracts a younger, more adventurous audience than its contemporaries. The studio saw the film festival’s strange idea as a chance to give video games greater cultural relevancy in the broader mainstream. Besides – much of the game’s cinematics team were already speaking the festival’s language.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s cinematic director, Petr Pekař, studied film editing and directing with the intention of becoming a traditional filmmaker, but he found his calling in video games. “There are a lot of filmmakers in the Czech Republic, but the market is not that big, so it's a bit overcrowded.” says Pekař. “Thankfully, there are multiple studios creating cutscenes, which are basically animated movies”. Pekar learned on the job creating cutscenes for Mafia 3, then joined Warhorse – first as a cinematic designer on the original Kingdom Come, then as director on its sequel.

Bringing Deliverance 2’s cutscenes to the big screen invites comparison with conventional cinema, an arena far from the cinematics’ original purpose. “If you're a player, you’re mainly looking forward to playing the game,” says Pekař. “The cutscenes are more like dessert for the game – not necessary – but when it's good and it clicks, it really helps the game, the story, and the overall feel”.

The Cinematic Cut opens, naturally, on the game’s first cutscene. As it happens, you can’t help but feel like you’re settling in for a YouTube video titled ‘Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – All Cutscenes’ (“I don’t think anybody actually watches those in full” Pekař quips). The team’s cinematic direction is confident, but familiar – steeped in high fantasy tropes. A fiery siege on the castle is highly reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy – a major influence on Warhorse’s stylistic approach. Transported to the cinema screen, the scene serves as a striking reminder of how video games have traded in pastiche since their inception, responding to our desire to live out the fantasy ourselves whenever we see something cool on screen. But, of course, Cinematic Cut doesn’t deliver on this pivotal fantasy like its source material does – it’s non-playable.

When the cutscene footage ends, something curious happens. Father Godwin readies his crossbow and the scene transitions into first-person. But this is no Let’s Play. Smart, quick cuts establish a new, more cinematic editing language for first-person gameplay. Godwin heads towards the stairs – cut – now he’s halfway up them – cut – now he’s atop the ramparts, plunging his sword into an enemy. It’s remarkably thrilling. “[The gameplay] was mostly recorded by Vítek Mičke, our marketing specialist,” explains Pekař. “He also made the trailers, and he's got a good sense of timing and aesthetics. He knows how to control the camera with the controller to properly set the scene and set the mood – so it looks cool.”

A couple of awkward transitions disrupt this otherwise ‘cinematic’ tempo. A sudden cut to a ladder lowering, for example, has the distinct feel of a gameplay segment ending and a cutscene beginning, and reminds you of the objective-based game that birthed the footage. But these moments are few and far between, and they accentuate how much Warhorse has otherwise succeeded in their first attempt.

“I think this is an experiment that somebody can pick up and do better than we did – or maybe we can do it again in the future with our future projects, and learn from our mistakes.” reflects Pekař. “It’s a really interesting experience to see it on the big screen – and I was surprised that it held up. It’s odd, but it somewhat works. It’s not some kind of new cinematic media that will sit next to the movies, but for festivals and conventions, for fans – I think it’s a format that others will be doing as well”.

The team at KVIFF are equally pleased with the results. “Storytelling has many faces,” says Och. “We’re proud that a new chapter in the festival’s modern history was written in collaboration with people that we respect a great deal who follow the same goal.”

“I think this format builds a bridge,” concludes Pekař. “Gamers can come to appreciate aesthetics and cinematography, the color palettes and moods in games more, and – in the same way – movie fans can understand how movies have different functions when they’re working with interactivity. When these two mediums collaborate, sometimes it creates really strange and cool ideas. When people go out of their bubble to see something different, it helps us to understand each other’s mediums.”

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Cinematic Cut is available to watch on the KVIFF.TV website for a small fee (approx. $6) until July 31, 2027.

Blake Simons is a journalist with a taste for the self-reflexive, sentimental and surreal.

Work on the Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe continues, Games Workshop has said in its latest financial report, but don’t expect any significant news any time soon — it’ll be “several years” before anything comes of it.

That’s the brief message the UK company issued to investors as part of its annual report this week, which also included a promising-sounding update on what to expect.

Former Superman actor and Warhammer 40,000 superfan Henry Cavill is set to star in and executive produce the Warhammer 40,000 franchise across all Amazon Studios productions after Games Workshop and Amazon finalized their deal late last year.

Cavill's Warhammer 40,000 Cinematic Universe is shrouded in mystery, and Games Workshop itself has cautioned fans not to expect to see anything of it for some time. Still, fans are excited about the prospect of finally seeing Warhammer 40,000 brought to life in live-action form across films and TV shows — and with Cavill steering the ship, they’re confident it will be done right.

However, condensing the vast scope of the IP into films and TV shows while sticking to a reasonable budget may prove a challenge. Warhammer 40,000 is a highly detailed setting with multiple factions, thousands of years of war played out on a galactic scale, and, at the heart of it all, enormous Space Marines who often fight against even bigger monsters. We’re talking space battles that can last hundreds of years, gargantuan land battles that can consume entire planets, and the Warp, a place so unknowable that it can be pretty much anything you can imagine.

That’s why fans have wondered about the story Amazon plans to tell with its 40K project. Perhaps something a bit more grounded that doesn’t necessarily revolve around Space Marines is a more realistic option, such as author Dan Abnett’s much-loved Eisenhorn series, which follows the inquisitors Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor as they hunt heretics and demons.

But if Amazon wants to go full-blown galactic Space Marine, it could tell the story of the sprawling and foundational The Horus Heresy saga, or perhaps pick one of the more famous battles in the current setting, such as The Fall of Cadia.

Either way, realizing 40K in live-action is a huge undertaking, which is why Games Workshop’s statement in its financial report has fans purring:

“On 10 December 2024 we announced the conclusions of our negotiations with Amazon for the adaptation of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe into films and television series, together with associated merchandising rights. The project continues in line with our contractual agreement with Amazon. This same contract prohibits us from sharing any specific details or commercial terms.

"We have great partners who continue to display their commitment to present Warhammer authentically and at the scope and scale befitting our fantastical setting. This is a long-term partnership with Amazon and there won’t be any significant news in the short term — these things take several years to bring to market.”

It’s that line about having “great” partners (Amazon and Henry Cavill) who are apparently committed to presenting Warhammer “at the scope and scale befitting our fantastical setting” that is of interest here. For fans, that hopefully means Amazon will go big on 40K in terms of production value at least, with its hugely expensive The Lord of the Rings show The Rings of Power fresh in the memory.

As Games Workshop insisted, this is not something we will see anything of any time soon. So we’re left with scraps to mull over, such as recent comments from Dan Abnett about NDAs and upcoming books.

In the meantime, Games Workshop pointed to the well-received Warhammer 40,000 episode on Amazon Prime’s animation show Secret Level, which it described as “a taster of Warhammer IP in digital form on the small screen.”

In June, Cavill himself touched on the “complexity” and “trickiness” of adapting the Warhammer 40,000 IP. But, he insisted, he’s loving the challenge, which for fans will be great to hear. Bringing Warhammer to life "is a dream come true," Cavill said, "but it's different from what I've done before, in the sense I haven't had my hand on the tiller of things before. It's wonderful doing that. It is a tricky IP, and a very complex IP, and that's what I love about it. The challenges that come with putting this on the page in a way that is doing justice to that complexity, that trickiness, and that nuance, is a challenge I'm enjoying enormously."

When the Games Workshop / Amazon deal was announced, Cavill issued a statement on Instagram saying he’d been “working away in concept rooms, breaking down approaches to the enormity and magnificence of the Warhammer world."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The Pokémon Company has dramatically pulled the design of a new Pokémon TCG Pocket trading card, amid a firestorm of controversy over its apparent origins.

Fans had said the card, Ho-Oh EX from the game's Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion, was based on plagiarised fan art — and in a statement issued today, The Pokémon Company essentially admitted as much.

Now, the card's artwork — alongside that of its sister Lugia EX card, which also features the Ho-Oh design — have been pulled from the game, mere hours before Wisdom of Sea and Sky's global launch. Addressing the situation, The Pokémon Company said it "deeply apologize[d] for any inconvenience" and was now conducting a review of all other cards, to ensure no other designs were at fault.

"To our community, thank you for your continued support and passion for Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket," The Pokémon Company wrote. "We want to share an important update regarding the upcoming expansion, Wisdom of Sea and Sky. It has come to our attention that there was a production issue regarding the illustration of Ho-Oh featured in the immersive card artwork for Ho-Oh EX (3-Star) and Lugia EX (3-Star).

"After internal review, we discovered that the card production team provided incorrect materials as official documents to the illustrator commissioned to create these cards. As a result, both cards have been replaced with a temporary placeholder that the team is actively working to replace with new artwork as soon as it's ready.

"We are also conducting a broader investigation to ensure no similar issues exist elsewhere in the game."

Currently, obtaining the card shows an empty card design with awkward-looking "New Art Coming Soon" text — and then a black screen in place of the card's immersive artwork. It doesn't look great.

Holy cow guys I can’t believe I opened this in Pokemon TCG pocket 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3st3ILATSW

— Poli (@ProfPoliwag) July 30, 2025

Yesterday's controversy, which came after the Wisdom of Sea and Sky's card designs were datamined and examined online, sparked a wider discussion over the Pokémon's legal terms for fanart — which appear to suggest the company could, if it wanted, do whatever it liked with fan-made designs.

Today's action strongly suggests that while The Pokémon Company may legally be able to argue it can use fan designs, it in practice does not want to typically do so, or leave fans thinking it now sees fanart as fair game for its commercial use.

"To all our players who have been looking forward to this expansion, and to the talented illustrators who bring the Pokémon world to life, we deeply apologize for any inconvenience this has caused," The Pokémon Company continued. "We take this matter very seriously and are committed to strengthening our quality control processes to prevent this from happening again.

"Thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. We remain dedicated to delivering an experience that you can enjoy."

Nintendo has updated Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World with a fresh patch that pulls a notable U-turn on a recent, controversial change.

Last month, Nintendo upset Mario Kart fans by nerfing the game's Random course selection option when playing in VS mode — something many players were deliberately using to try and opt out of open-world driving whenever possible.

Unlike the game's suggested next race options, Random allowed players to land on a track further afield — which then would be played as a distinct three-lap race, in traditional Mario Kart style — rather than play a so-called 'intermission track,' where a bulk of the next race is taken up by simply driving to the course through the game's open world. Now, Nintendo has hit the brakes, reversed course and pulled a Uey on this change, in a surprising climbdown.

In the latest patch notes for Mario Kart World update 1.2.0, which is available to download now, Nintendo said it has "increased the frequency of lap-type courses appearing in the selection when choosing the next course in 'VS Race' and wireless races."

This should please the large number of fans who complained loudly about Nintendo's previous change, and who said it was a sign Nintendo was forcing players to drive through lengthy stretches of the game's less interesting open world, rather than via its tighter, more curated actual courses.

Today's update is a chunky one, with a slew of tweaks and bug fixes for Nintendo's open-world racer. A handful of new features include the ability to view replays after downloading Time Trial ghost data, and to choose who to spectate in Knockout Tour and Balloon Battle.

Meanwhile, a handful of balance adjustments by Nintendo have made computer-controlled players "weaker in everything other than Battle," and also nerfed the homing accuracy of the Boomerang item. There's a new wheel spinning animation if you try and accelerate too early at the start of races, too.

Full patch notes for Mario Kart World version 1.2.0 lie below.

Mario Kart World Update 1.2.0 patch notes:

General

• In the “VS Race” of “Single Player”, added “No COM” to the COM rules.
• In the “VS Race” of “Single Player” and “Multiplayer”, added “Mushrooms only” to the item rules.
• You can now choose “View Replay” after downloading ghost data in “Time Trials”.
• You can now choose whom to watch when spectating in “Knockout Tour” and “Balloon Battle” in “Online Play”, “Wireless Play”, and “LAN Play”.
• You can now see the waiting time until the next race or battle starts in “Online Play”, “Wireless Play”, and “LAN Play”.
• When using CameraPlay in “Multiplayer” and “Online Play”, the game will now remember the camera cursor position and size until the player closes the game.
  • If you change the number of people playing, the cursor position and size will return to their original settings.
• On the “Free Roam” map, when you gather all of the P Switches, ? Panels, and Peach Medallions, the colors of the various numbers will now change.
• Made COM weaker in everything other than “Battle”.
• Made homing of Boomerang weaker.
• Decreased the probability of getting a Triple Dash Mushroom in the low position, whenever the item rules in a race are anything other than “Frantic”.
• Changed it so order of getting ? Block is higher than in the past, whenever the item rules in a race are anything other than “Frantic”.
• Made it so there is a wheel spinning animation if the player presses the A button (acceleration) too early when starting a race while driving.
  • Player will not lose speed even when spinning wheels.
• Increased the frequency of lap-type courses appearing in the selection when choosing the next course in “VS Race” and wireless races.

Fixed Issues

• Fixed an issue where the rate fluctuations were sometimes displayed incorrectly in wireless races.
• Fixed an issue where the vehicle would stay floating in air when jumping off a half pipe.
• Fixed an issue where, when a player crashes while gliding and uses Bullet Bill, they go out of the course.
• Fixed an issue where, if a player quits a Rewind in the location where they were wall riding, the driver’s posture would not return to what it was before.
• Fixed an issue where the item that was displayed in the item slot would turn into something else when using it.
• Fixed an issue where in “Online Play”, the player would not dash even when getting on a Dash Panel.
• Fixed an issue where the points in a team race in “Wireless Play” would display incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable on the menu screen after the player was retired in “Balloon Battle” in “Wireless Play”.
• Fixed an issue where a Peach Medallion would sometimes disappear when doing Rewind in “Free Roam”.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable when the player pointed the cursor at their own character or course and pressed A on the “Free Roam” map.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable when the player quit a mission in “Free Roam” right before entering a pipe.
• Fixed an issue where the player would slip through some drift ice around “Sky-High Sundae”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on the outside of a handrail on the left and right sides right after the start of “Airship Fortress”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on the fence and not be able to move forward in “Bowser's Castle”.
• Fixed an issue where, when the player used a Bullet Bill in “Bowser's Castle”, they would not be able to glide and fell into the abyss.
• Fixed an issue where the player would go out of the course when using a Mega Mushroom on the last turn of “Whistlestop Summit”.
• Fixed an issue where the player could not get out of the location where they fell from a railroad when “Smart Steering” is on in “Whistlestop Summit”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ground at a ramp near the goal at “Choco Mountain”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on a block when using a Bullet Bill on the road that enters “Choco Mountain”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on a plank of wood laid on the road when throwing a green shell on the road between “DK Spaceport” and “Whistlestop Summit”.
• Fixed an issue where the last place would be sometimes incorrect in the wireless races of “Dino Dino Jungle”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on the back of a leaf when using a Bullet Bill in “Acorn Heights”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would not be able to slip through a vase that is placed on the road in “Shy Guy Bazaar”, when using a Boo.
• Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ceiling in “Dry Bones Burnout”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would sometimes hit a fence when throwing a red shell on the first turn in “Moo Moo Meadows”.
• Fixed an issue where one part of the effects that take place for the bridge transforming when heading toward “Rainbow Road” did not display.
• Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ground on the road between ”Starview Peak” and “Sky-High Sundae”.
• Fixed an issue where some of the item boxes would not have appeared in “Wario Shipyard”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the bottom of a rock near the goal of ”Wario Shipyard”.
• Fixed an issue where the player would go out of the course when using a Mega Mushroom on a turn inside “Wario Stadium”.
• Fixed an issue where the player gets caught on a tree in the middle of a shortcut if they have “Smart Steering” on when heading from “Starview Peak” to “Dandelion Depths” in “Ice Rally” of “Knockout Tour”.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

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

FromSoftware has delayed Elden Ring Nightreign patch 1.02 due to the ongoing tsunami warning in Japan after a massive earthquake off Russia triggered evacuations across the Pacific.

The first waves triggered by the massive 8.8 earthquake off Russia's coast have reached Hawaii, with a 1.2 meter (4 feet) wave recorded off Oahu. In Japan, 1.9 million people have been told to evacuate and a tsunami wave of 1.3 meters (4.2 feet) has reached the northern Iwate prefecture, the BBC reported.

There's a moment every week where I think, "Right, that's enough games," and then the deals roll in and I immediately fold quicker than a 3DS with a broken hinge. Today’s haul had me hovering over “Buy Now” far too often. We’ve got deep discounts across every major platform, including a few titles that haven’t been this cheap since launch week. Whether you’re in the mood to sob through a bleak detective RPG, carve through horrors with a chainsword, or just punt a co-op partner off a ledge for fun, this list’s stacked.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm remembering the 16th birthday of Fat Princess, a PS3 multi-fest I spent many a hard day's knight dying in. Built for 32-player mayhem, the core gameplay revolves around kidnapping the titular monarchs in a never-ending war between the red and blue kingdoms. How was that battle waged? Hat's where it got interesting, because the capabilities of every player changed with headwear powerups (priest, warrior, mage, worker, or ranger). According to my memories, a rock solid CTF with the right crew and gory as you please.

In the world of gaming peripherals, seeing new iterations of products we've seen time and again isn't the most exciting thing. But it is a chance to see good ideas become fully formed ones. When it hit a few years ago, our BlackShark V2 Pro review said it was, "a great headset for those who care about their audio experience," and it definitely proved to be a contender among the better gaming headsets out there. With finer tuning on upgraded audio drivers for robust sound quality and a number of meaningful new features, the new BlackShark V3 Pro makes enough of a step forward to stand out in a crowded space, making it one of best high-end gaming headsets I've used in recent years.

Specifically with Razer, it also has the luxury-style line with the Kraken and a more straightforward series in the Barracuda. Having reviewed the latest in the Kraken V4 Pro, I felt its feature set to be extraneous and didn't exactly justify its ballooning price tag. Meanwhile, the Barracuda continues to be a solid choice among our recommended budget-level gaming headsets. But if you were to ask me for my full recommendation if pricing wasn't as much of a concern, Razer or otherwise, the Blackshark V3 Pro is certainly in that conversation.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Design and Features

If you've seen the BlackShark before, the V3 Pro doesn't stray too far from the V2's design principles. It sports thin wire-like aluminum yokes that branch outward to also act as telescoping arms for adjusting the fit. The headband itself is a flexible aluminum wrapped in a leatherette upper stitched with a padded sports mesh cushion underneath to rest comfortably atop your head. Don't mistake its unassuming look for a lack of quality, the BlackShark V3 is among the well-built gaming headsets out there. And at 376g, it's not heavy yet still feels lighter than its listed weight because of its approach to comfort.

Along with the oval-shaped earcups, it looks a bit like a pilot's headset but with a slim-enough profile and sleek rounded edges so it's not heavy or bulky. The earpads are a major highlight, too – they're made with a dense memory foam and wrapped in a velvety sports mesh for breathability. Since the headset doesn't have a strong clamp force, the BlackShark V3 Pro's earpads provide comfort throughout five or six hour gaming sessions without fatigue. And unlike leatherette upholsteries on equally comfortable headsets, the sports mesh here kept sweat around my ears to a minimum. A small, but effective touch is that the innards where the audio drivers are have a thin padding in case your ears come in contact, which can help those with bigger ears since the earpads themselves have a somewhat lower profile.

Along the right earcup are buttons for cycling through different EQ presets, the chat volume mix wheel, and the active noise cancellation (ANC) / ambient toggle. It's a minor detail, but I appreciate how snappy the headset swaps through these settings, so you don't have to hold a button or wait for the change to kick it. On the left side is the mic mute toggle, the power button, the USB-C charging port, and the microphone jack. Master volume is controlled by a knob that protrudes out of the left earcup for easy access, which adjusts volume digitally on the platform you're using it on.

Pitched as the "esports" lineup of Razer's headsets, the BlackShark is made with competitive gaming in mind, but it's nice to see that it doesn't skimp out premium features that weren't on previous versions of the BlackShark. For one, it has a 45-degree inward swivel for the earcups, letting them sit a little more naturally around your neck when it's not in use – while it's not the full 90-degrees of most other headsets that swivel, it's nice that the V3 Pro swivels at all.

Other features new to this lineup is ANC, simultaneous audio, and wired analog input. While the natural closed-back sound isolation is solid, the V3 Pro ANC is very strong at its highest setting and gives it more versatility for noisy environments (although I wouldn't use it unless I had to since it can affect overall sound tuning). While you'll primarily use the BlackShark V3 Pro with the 2.4GHz HyperSpeed wireless dongle for a super-low 10ms latency, simultaneous Bluetooth lets you take an additional audio feed, which would typically be convenient for those who use this headset with a mobile device, too. And a USB-C to 3.5mm analog converter comes packed with the headset in case you want to plug it into a controller or directly into Switch audio port, for example.

While you'll see extravagant features like Chroma RGB lighting and Sensa haptics on the Kraken V4 Pro, the BlackShark always meant business – so there's no RGB, which is perfectly fine for a headset since I'm not seeing it anyway. And given its performance-focus, the BlackShark's customization lies in fine-tuning audio performance.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Software and Battery Life

The story of Razer Synapse remains the same; a finicky software suite with too many moving parts, but works well enough to bring out the best in your peripheral. It's pretty important to have so you can make small adjustments to get the most out of the headset, and once it's working, Synapse is easy to figure out. Customization mostly lies in EQ settings, which are crucial to getting the most out of the BlackShark V3 Pro. Synapse has built-in profiles for the most popular competitive games – Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and Call of Duty Warzone. It's not nearly as robust as SteelSeries, which has hundreds of built-in profiles for games, but it's simple enough to make your own adjustments along the 10-band frequencies. This is also where you enable THX Spatial Audio on PC, and it runs on its own set of EQ settings that you can change here. (You can also use Tempest 3D audio on PS5 and Windows Sonic with Xbox as well as Dolby Atmos, if you have a license).

Other settings include ANC / ambient noise control strength, simultaneous audio mix, audio enhancements (like bass boost and vocal clarity outside of EQ), and a slew of microphone tweaks. Features like sidetone to hear your own voice and noise gate levels are here in addition to adjusting the microphones 10-band EQ. All settings are saved onto the headset itself so you'll have your preferences even if you don't have Synapse running or use it on a different platform.

Battery life remains solid with the BlackShark V3 Pro, rated for 70 hours like the previous iterations. Many factors feed into the actual battery life you get, like how much you use ANC, HyperSpeed ultra-low latency, or simultaneous audio. From my experience, I got about 50 hours of total usage from a full charge over the course of a full week before it dipped below 20% (according to Synapse). Considering I used HyperSpeed anytime I was playing games and used ANC sparingly during the workday, this is more than sufficient in my book and not too far off Razer's own claims.

Razer BlackShark V3 Pro – Sound Quality and Performance

A gaming headset is nothing without proper sound performance, and from using the BlackShark V3 Pro across different applications, I'm happy to report that sound quality is one of the clear highlights of the headset. Such is expected for a premium-level headset in the $250 range, but even then I was impressed with its punchy, yet balanced sound and its spatial audio performance.

The BlackShark V3 Pro isn't exactly bass-heavy like the Kraken V4 Pro or Audeze Maxwell, but it's a well-balanced headset on the default EQ settings that still has good bass response. It gives a bit more wiggle room for the audiophile types to tweak it to their liking, offering flexibility for specific games. Personally, I took the bass up a little bit and treble down since I wasn't too hot on the slight harshness and found a good universal profile for music and games.

I played several rounds of Call of Duty: Warzone on PlayStation 5 and swapped between the profile specifically made for Call of Duty and my own EQ tuning – regardless, I felt like I had a wider soundstage, helping certain audio cues stand out more prominently. Sure, this might provide a competitive edge, but for me, the more enjoyable audio experience was more important for a game that can get audibly cluttered and busy.

In Counter-Strike 2 on PC, I bounced between the custom-made profile and my own and felt very competitive in both modes. My own EQ gave a more natural sound while still letting me pinpoint footsteps, gunshots, and enemy actions like reloading to give me the edge when making crucial tactical decisions in ranked matches. In a complete 180-turn, playing something like Deltarune on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a much different kind of experience where the layered soundtrack came through beautifully even with the high-pitch of its chiptune-esque soundfonts.

That positional audio and overall sound quality speaks to the adjustments Razer made to the design of its 50mm audio drivers, which sanded off distortion and brought out the finer details in both games and music – and I'm not sure if I was able to fully say that about previous Razer headsets.

Having reviewed so many headsets at this point, the microphone sometimes feels like an afterthought. Given that being able to communicate clearly through in-game chat, you don't necessarily need standalone mic quality, but it's nice that the BlackShark V3 Pro's is better than most even at the premium level. In Audacity recordings, my voice came through fairly clean and warm without much of that "digitization" you hear on lesser mics, rivaling the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, two of which we often recommend. Oddly, though, the BlackShark V2 Pro's mic was noticeably closer to the quality of a standalone mic, so while I'd call the V3 Pro's a slight downgrade, it's still no slouch – a minor disappointment, if anything.

Every car absolutely needs a tire inflator as part of an emergency kit to be readily available at any time. If the only reason stopping you is the cost, then this deal should give you no more excuse. Amazon is offering the Jusuox cordless tire inflator and air compressor for just $14.99 after you apply $15 off coupon code "2NYD2URT" during checkout. You do not need to be an Amazon Prime member to get this deal. Any brand of tire inflator you find on Amazon at around this price point was probably made from the one of few overseas factories. They might not have as many fancy features as other more expensive models, but they get the job done and that's what matters.

Jusuox Cordless Tire Inflator and Air Compressor for $15

Last weekend, a global beta test began for Where Winds Meet, the open-world game published by NetEase that is already available in China. This free-to-play game takes place around the year 1000 between the great Tang and Song dynasties during what's known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In it, players take the role of a lone wandering hero during this time of upheaval where one's own strength matters more than the rules of society. IGN readers may not be too familiar with the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, but don’t worry – the same even seems to apply to players in China.

We know that the game takes some influence from Ghost of Tsushima and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild thanks to a past interview with lead designer Chris Lyu, but it can be difficult to imagine exactly what the gameplay will be like. According to Lyu, it is "the world's first wuxia-themed open-world" game. Once I got my hands on the game, I found Where Winds Meet was indeed a wuxia game through-and-through, with the strength of the concept bringing together a variety of elements seen in games today.

Once you're finished with character creation and begin playing the game, you're first met with a graceful man with flowing hair resting in a bamboo grove while holding a baby to his chest, almost like Zhao Yun from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Then, another handsome and long-haired man comes to talk to him, and it seems that this man with a baby has betrayed his school. He hops on a white horse then gallops through the bamboo while avoiding his pursuer's weapons, at times in slow motion. All of these shots are reminiscent of famous scenes from various Chinese movies of the past, making it clear from the start that this game is closely linked to the wuxia tradition.

A sense of "wuxia-ness" oozes out of this game at every turn even after this opening scene ends and you take control of the character you've created – whether that's through its gameplay in general, its systems and graphics, or its dialogue. A few minutes after I started walking freely through its world, I spoke to an old man on the side of the road who asked me to repel a bear who's been after honey. It seems that the protagonist is able to learn techniques from the movements of the bear, as pressing buttons at the right time according to icons that pop up caused him to learn tai chi from the beast, incredibly enough.

All of this serves as a tutorial for the Mystic Arts that make up part of your arsenal, but more importantly, this process of observing familiar objects and nature to learn abilities and grow stronger gives the player a strong sense of the game's wuxia flavor. It seems there are other abilities that come from nature, like Lion's Roar and the venomous Toad Style, so I'm sure there will be many other techniques the protagonist learns from all the creatures of the game’s world. Just as you might expect to be able to use magic to create fire in a game with a fantasy setting, the player in this game's wuxia world is able to master strange powers of their own. It's also interesting to note that these abilities can be used outside of combat as well. For example, nearby fish are caught up in tai chi when it's used by the water's surface, making for efficient fishing.

One of the most notable things about this thoroughly wuxia game is its inclusion of many elements we've come to expect from combat systems and exploration in action games today. For example, pressing the correct button just before an enemy's attack lands will parry it, creating a back-and-forth tempo during action segments.

While equivalent to the kinds of parry systems that have become a staple in recent action games, this game goes into slow motion when it's time to parry an enemy attack and displays an icon telling you what button to press (though it is possible to turn this icon off in the options). While similar to Final Fantasy XVI's Story-Focused mode, these icons deplete an Insight Points meter when they're displayed and won't show up if you run out, so you can't recklessly fend off every single enemy attack.

There are currently seven weapon types that a player can use (with plans to add more). In addition to standard swords and spears, there are also more unusual weapons like umbrellas and folding fans. Each weapon provides for its own unique gameplay, such as the umbrella's skill that temporarily stuns an enemy, or the fan's ability to create a zone that heals the player and their allies.

Players can equip both a main weapon and a sub-weapon, each enabling a variety of martial techniques. What techniques are available to you will also change based on the school you study under, with a total of eleven available schools. The game's combat style changes quite a bit depending on the combination of mystic and martial skills you use, allowing for a wide degree of customization. Between all of the different attacks, the balance between offense and defense enabled by parries, and the overall voracious approach to combat elements, it felt like the game had taken a menu of popular modern features and ordered one of everything.

The bow and arrow is treated differently whether it's being used as a main or a sub-weapon, capable of attacking enemies from afar while also solving puzzles by burning through vines to open up pathways. The way it's positioned shows the influence of another game that was previously mentioned, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

The game's core of open world exploration and progression has also been extravagantly created. During the preview, I was able to visit Kaifeng, one of China's eight ancient capitals located in Heinan province that flourished at the time as one of the world's largest cities. Despite the war-ravaged world, the city in the game was open and lively, with its residents chatting away like it was Cyberpunk 2077 after just a short walk through its streets. It sounds like upwards of a thousand NPCs have reputation levels, allowing you to befriend them on an individual basis.

It's not hard to imagine how people live in the game's detailed streets of Kaifeng, apparently recreated by referring to historical remains that still exist today. Walk down the big street that cuts through it all and eventually you'll find a large arching bridge. A beautiful palace with towering defenses awaits you on the other side, making it clear just how prosperous this Chinese capital was at the time. From there the player will be able to dig into the secrets around their own birth as a wandering hero.

After only about three hours of gameplay, I could tell that Where Winds Meet is packed full of elements that players have experienced before in open-world games. But what shocked me most of all is that while you could call this a mishmash of features, the key concept of wuxia along with the way those elements are presented worked to bring all of them together in a natural way. Perhaps you could say that what best defines Where Winds Meet is this coexistence of the past decade of what has made open-world and action games fun alongside its Chinese creators' love for the genre of wuxia.

These days, laptops are all but required for college, whether you’re an engineering student that needs GPU horsepower for complex models, or an English major that just needs a decent keyboard and a screen. With how far they’ve come in the last few years, the best laptops for school can go a long way in aiding your success in the classroom (or, at the very least, not make your life any harder than it needs to be).

TL;DR: These Are the Best Laptops for Students:

Some schools have strict laptop requirements, and you should follow those if your college has them. For most people, though, the best laptop for college will look similar to what anyone would look for in a laptop. You want a comfortable keyboard, along with a display that doesn’t hurt your eyes to look at for too long. Under the surface, you also need a powerful processor and enough RAM to effectively multitask. After a few hours of grinding away at a paper, even Microsoft Office is going to start eating up any and all resources it can get its hands on, after all.

Engineering and creative students, or anyone who needs to run complex models or software on their computer, are especially going to need CPUs and GPUs that can keep up with them. If this sounds like you, I’d actually recommend going all-out for a gaming laptop like the Razer Blade 16 or the TUF A14, because their powerful GPUs can easily keep up with any complex software like MATLAB or AutoCAD. Plus, you’ll be able to play your favorite PC games in your downtime.

1. MacBook Pro 16

Best Laptop for College

2. MacBook Air M4

Best Writing Laptop for College

3. Surface Laptop (Copilot+)

Best AI Laptop for College

4. Razer Blade 16 (2025)

Best Gaming Laptop for College

5. Asus TUF A14

Best Gaming Laptop for Students Who Don't Have Razer Blade Money

6. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

Best Chromebook for College

What to Look for in a Laptop for College

When you’re setting out to buy a laptop, especially for college, the most important thing you can possibly do is figure out what you’re going to do with it, and I don’t just mean "school work." These days, your field of study drastically affects what you’re going to need from a laptop. If you’re an English major, for example, you can probably get away with a Chromebook, as it’ll allow you to view texts online and write all your papers in Google Docs.

However, if you need to do heavy workloads like video editing or 3D modeling, you’re going to need a laptop with significantly more horsepower. Even computer science majors need to make sure they have a laptop with plenty of RAM that won’t crash when trying to compile projects.

Then, you’re going to need to make sure you stick to a budget that makes sense for you. If you have extra funds from your student aid that you can put toward your laptop, you need to set aside a clear budget and keep that in mind. If you don’t have thousands of dollars to spare, there are a ton of budget laptops available, but you need to have a clear picture of what you need before you start shopping for laptops.

A laptop’s CPU is probably the clearest picture you’re going to get about what it’s capable of at first glance. Intel Core and AMD Ryzen processors are probably the most complicated chips to look at, but it’s easy to figure out where they stand. Generally, Intel Core i3 processors are reserved for low-power laptops that are only good for light word processing and web browsing. Core i5 processors are more of a middle ground and are easily able to get most people through light photo work or Excel. Intel Core i7 and Core i9 processors are reserved for high-end devices, and are what you should keep an eye out for if you need a lot of computing power. Luckily AMD Ryzen processors are branded similarly, with Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 processors following the same logic as their Intel counterparts.

You’re going to need to also make sure you get enough RAM. It used to be that 8GB was more than enough for most people, but those days are over. Unless you’re going for a low-power Chromebook, you should shoot for 16GB. If you’re going to be doing a lot of video editing or scientific modeling, you should aim for at least 32GB.

Unless you specifically need a discrete GPU, you can get away with whatever integrated graphics come with a laptop’s CPU. However, if you do need the GPU horsepower, finding a laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 should be a sweet spot for most people. These laptops won’t be quite as expensive as something with an RTX 4090, but will still be able to get through any workload, albeit a little slower.

Picking the right amount of storage depends entirely on how you use your laptop. For instance, I rely on Google Drive for work, so I can easily get by with a 512GB SSD. However, if you like to save all of your work locally, you’re going to want to beef up your SSD, especially if you get something like a MacBook, as Apple stopped letting users upgrade SSDs years ago.

Best Laptops for Students FAQ

What does a university student need in a laptop?

Most college students can get away with mid-range laptops. Aim for something like an Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM and enough storage to keep their work. However, if you’re studying a field that requires powerful hardware, like video editing or engineering, a gaming laptop with a discrete GPU like an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 will get the job done.

Do college students get discounts on laptops?

Not all college students will get a discount on a laptop. As a general rule, you should check with your school’s Financial Aid department to see what laptop discounts (if any) you can take advantage of. Beyond that, some manufacturers offer special discounts on select hardware if you’re a student. Apple, for one, offers discounts on a wide range of hardware for any student that can prove they are enrolled in school.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. She's been writing about gaming PCs for almost a decade and has been building them even longer. You can follow her @Jackiecobra.

USB Type-C has become the standard for charging and data cables alike, so it's good to have extra on hand. Here's a great back to school deal where you can get some quality cables at a throwaway price. Amazon is offering a two-pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C cables for just $5.31 after you apply coupon code "JHCR87FA". That averages out to $2.66 per cable. USB Type-C cables typically go for about $10 per cable or more at your local big box store. These can charge nearly any device with a USB-C port, including your Nintendo Switch 2, iPhone 16, or even the new M4 MacBook.

2-Pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C Cables for $5.31

The CEO of Electronic Arts is teasing the return of EA College Basketball, just one month after a cryptic EA Sports tweet put the idea back into the heads of video game basketball fans.

Bring the Madness. Let’s run it back. #CBB #ItsInTheGame pic.twitter.com/iBNhGxn2yj

— EA SPORTS (@EASPORTS) June 30, 2025

During today's Q1 earnings call, CEO Andrew Wilson was asked about the potential return of College Basketball, likely in response to the above tweet. Per reports back in June and the above clever tease, College Basketball is indeed slated to return from EA, though it will be a while yet before we see it - it's not expected until 2028.

Here's Wilson's vague, yet promising, response in full:

We can't say too much about it yet, but if I think about the opportunity, going back to where we are on College Football, college sport has one of the most vibrant fanbase in the world. And that trickles over to basketball certainly. We're seeing momentum of fandom in college basketball also continue to grow. Fans, athletes, universities pour their passion into these sports. And it is that passion that makes it special, that makes the games different.

But with that comes high expectations, and a demand for deeply authentic experiences: capturing the action on the field or the court, representing the energy, pagentry, the traditions, and celebrating the unique sights and sounds and stories of every school and rivalry. We feel like we deliver that incredibly well with College Football...we'd love to do the same for basketball. All 350 programs, men's and women's teams, the iconic traditions and rivalries, and of course, March Madness.

So for us, college sports broadly is an exciting opportunity. We feel like we've done a really strong job, and remain committed to doing that in the context of college football. We believe that with what we've done with the teams, the technology, and our commitment around College Football, we'd have a great ability to do the same for college basketball, and as we look to try and activate against that opportunity, we'll be able to share more.

Per reporting from The Athletic, EA Sports' proposal for a College Basketball game, which was recommended for acceptance by the Collegiate Licensing Company, would include all Division I men's and women's teams (730 in total). The games, of which there would be six in total with releases beginning in 2028, would have similar features to College Football such as Dynasty Mode, Team Builder, Road to Glory, and Ultimate Team.

EA last produced a College Basketball game back in 2009, but the series was discontinued amid disputes over its use of college athletes' likenesses, and declining sales compared to the College Football series. However, the success of College Football seems to have sparked a new interest in Basketball from EA...though it may be facing competition from 2K Sports, if this NBA 2K official Twitter/X post is any indication.

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.

I’ve always been hesitant to buy anything used or refurbished – the last thing I want is to spend thousands of dollars on a laptop only to learn that someone really doesn’t know how to take care of their things.

But how often do you buy something new, open it, and return it because it wasn’t what you expected? I’ve done that plenty of times. Is it really that used if you touch it for just a moment? Another person’s buyer’s remorse can easily save you hundreds of dollars. Of course, not every laptop will be “like new,” but laptops have higher refurbishing standards than your average sub-$20 Amazon gadget.

Is It Worth Buying a Used/Refurbished Laptop?

This is a case of risk versus reward.

The worst example would be this M4 MacBook Air 13 available for $849 at Amazon. It’s brand new, but you can buy the “like new” model for $840. Saving $10 is not worth the risk of whatever condition Amazon thinks “like new” is.

A good example would be this Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16 for $851 at Best Buy that originalyl goes for $1,049 – this is in excellent condition, and you save $198. That’s quite the discount for a laptop that “works and looks like new,” according to Best Buy.

So, in theory, yes: It’s definitely worth buying a used or refurbished laptop. You just need to know how to navigate the wild judgements and rating systems each vendor has.

How to Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Best Buy

Best Buy has a few categories to explore in the refurbished space. You can choose between Open-Box, Refurbished, and Pre-Owned.

Open-Box refers to products that were returned to Best Buy, were factory reset, and then judged to be either Excellent (like new), Good (minor scratches and/or missing items), or Fair (major dents and/or missing parts). Refurbished refers to products that were sent back to the manufacturer and repaired and then sent back to Best Buy, so ideally they’re like new. Meanwhile, Pre-Owned refers to a laptop that’s been owned for weeks or months before being returned to Best Buy.

So with Best Buy, if you’re trying to maximize quality while saving money, shoot for the Refurbished and Excellent Open-Box laptops. As I pointed out earlier, you can save hundreds of dollars just going this route. Under Best Buy’s return policy, you’ll have 15 days to return the laptop if it’s not up to snuff.

How to Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Amazon

Amazon has two categories: Renewed and Used. The latter simply refers to any seller posting a product as used, including Amazon itself. However, Amazon Renewed is a program that handles professionally refurbishing products, either through Amazon or third-party refurbishers.

Amazon Renewed dishes out four grades: Premium (like new), Excellent (like new with more than 80% of original battery life), Good (light scratches with more than 80% battery), and Acceptable (scratches on screen and body with more than 80% battery).

If you are shopping for refurbished laptops at Amazon, I recommend going for the Premium grade ones. They’re not just better – they’re the only ones with a one-year warranty from Amazon. You get only 90 days with the other grades.

How to Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Newegg

For better or worse, Newegg is simple. There’s Refurbished and Newegg Refreshed. The former was refurbished by any seller, whereas a Newegg Refreshed product is refurbished by Newegg or a vetted supplier.

It’s unclear what you’ll get with the generic Refurbished label, but Newegg Refreshed products feature at least 80% battery life, no dead pixels, and no heavy damage or wear. They’re also cleaned and repackaged with the original or equivalent accessories.

If it isn’t obvious, go for the Newegg Refreshed laptops. You can also return them within 90 days for a full refund.

How to Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Walmart

Yes, even Walmart has a refurbished program, called Walmart Restored.

There are four grades: Premium (light scratches with at least 90% of original battery life), Like New (light scratches with more than 80% battery), Good (slight wear and tear with more than 80% battery), and Fair (significant wear and tear with more than 80% battery). It’s very similar to Amazon’s standards. There’s a 90-day return policy barring Premium products, which offer 30 days of free returns and replacements. Premium products are sold specifically from manufacturers or manufacturer-authorized sellers, which is why the warranty is different.

There are also Open Box items, which defines items that are in excellent condition with no signs of use. Then there are Pre-Owned items, labeled Like New, Good, and Fair. They operate like the aforementioned grades except the battery life standard is dropped to 60%. More importantly, they don’t offer a 90-day return policy.

You’d be safer going with a Like New laptop from the Walmart Restored category – that way you get the full 90 days.

How to Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Dell and Lenovo

You can also buy refurbished laptops directly from manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo.

Dell only has two grades: A and B. Simple yet weird. These grades refer to the cosmetic quality of the laptops and assumes that the refurbished products function like new. Grade A refurbished products are in good cosmetic condition, ranging from pristine to light scratches. Grade B refurbished products feature scratches, imperfections, or discolorations. The neat part is that these refurbished devices come with the same one-year limited warranty as new laptops do.

Lenovo doesn’t feature any grades but instead labels its laptops as Certified Refurbished. What does that mean? Honestly, I have no idea. Lenovo’s website answers that question with a relatively generic answer about ensuring the product meets “Lenovo’s high standards of quality, performance, and reliability.” Similar to Dell, Lenovo offers the same one-year limited warranty as its new laptops, which can be upgraded to three years.

Which Used/Refurbished Laptop Should You Buy?

I recommend looking for laptops that have recently launched, ones that didn’t even get enough time to earn the wear and tear you might expect from a used laptop. That’ll net you a nice discount and a like-new device.

I would advise against purchasing older refurbished laptops. You can still find new old laptops available that simply haven’t run out of their stock yet, especially on sites like Newegg. Those laptops will get significant discounts, so you don’t need to worry about saving money on that front.

If you want to know which are the best laptops, the Apple MacBook Air (M4, Early 2025) is currently at the top of our list. And you can technically get a discount on it at Best Buy for $35 off as refurbished. Like I said earlier, I wouldn’t jump for deals like that, but if you’re pinching pennies over a MacBook, then go for it. Meanwhile, the Asus Zenbook S 16, our best laptop for work, is $162 off at Best Buy in an Excellent Open-Box.

When Should You Buy New?

You should buy new laptops when the refurbished game for the product you're looking for is questionable. If there’s a particular accessory or state that you need the product to be in, then I wouldn’t risk buying anything used.

Buying used still probably isn’t for me, though. While I can see the benefits of buying refurbished products, even ones that were opened for a moment and then tossed, there is still an inherent risk. All of these grading systems sound fine in theory, but we don’t really know what kind of testing goes into ensuring these products are refurbished. Maybe that’s just my mistrust in the industry, and maybe I’m falling into the trap of spending more to buy new. But I’d rather wait for a sale.

For those stronger of will, I recommend shopping used when you can and abusing return policies to ensure you’re getting as close to a new product as you can.

Rami Tabari is a contributing writer at IGN with over 9 years of experience in the tech and gaming industry. You can find his bylines at Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide (and on a random Predator review at Space.com). When Rami isn't wading through a sea of the latest gaming tech, he's agonizing over the worldbuilding in his upcoming novella.

As Nintendo takes the first step toward selling full-priced, AAA games at $80 and Xbox starts to follow suit but backs off, EA has now also made its position clear: no $80 games...for now.

"We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage," said CEO Andrew Wilson during today's Q1 earnings call. He said this in response to an investor question regarding publishing competitors beginning to release $80 games, and where EA sees itself in relation to them.

Wilson continued:

That's in the construct of, we already offer a fairly broad pricing scheme across our various products. When you think about everything from free-to-play through to our premium products and deluxe editions, our orientation is always to capture the full spectrum of pricing so that we can serve players in the best way possible and offer them the greatest value. We'll continue to look at opportunities to deliver great value to our players thorugh various pricing schemes over the course of time, but no dramatic changes planned yet.

EA also confirmed on the call that it hadn't factored in any changes to its existing pricing schemes to its expectations for the current fiscal year earnings guidance. The current fiscal year ends in March of 2026, so don't expect any $80 EA games between now and then. That means games like Madden NFL 26, EA Sports FC 26, and seemingly Battlefield 6 won't be $80, despite one leaker suggesting the contrary.

EA isn't the only publisher who isn't quite ready to follow suit with Nintendo's Mario Kart World on $80 games. Xbox recently announced The Outer Worlds 2 would be $80 alongside some other unknown holiday game releases, only to reverse that decision after it sparked criticism. And while Randy Pitchford defended a potential $80 price point for Borderlands 4, it turned out to only be $70 after all. Apart from that, it's unclear what other games will aim for that higher number in the future, though one likely contender that many are watching is Grand Theft Auto 6.

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.

After last week’s explosive Season 27 premiere, South Park will skip this week — but according to a new trailer, when the show returns next week it will take on President Trump once again.

The trailer confirms Season 27 continues with a new episode on Wednesday, August 6 on Comedy Central and the next day on Paramount+, which means South Park unexpectedly skips this week.

South Park's epic season continues on Wednesday, August 6 at 10/9c on Comedy Central and next day on Paramount+. pic.twitter.com/zLMHM9J4aP

— South Park (@SouthPark) July 29, 2025

Neither Comedy Central nor South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have explained the skip, but it’s worth noting that during their San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel last week, which took place the day after the Trump-skewering episode aired, Parker said they were unsure what the next episode would be, revealing the decision was “super stressful.”

Parker and Stone create each episode of South Park week by week, which makes for a chaotic production, but topical shows.

It’s also worth noting that the creators recently admitted that the Season 27 trailer that came out in April included footage made just for that trailer, and not from the episodes. “You seriously think we went and made a bunch of shows ahead of time and we’re banking them for later?” they said. “We just made something up and we’re like, this is what we’re doing! And we’re not doing any of that.”

South Park creators reveal that none of the footage in the season 27 teaser were from real episodes:

"You seriously think we went and made a bunch of shows ahead of time?"#SDCC pic.twitter.com/GAVIsnmTl2

— IGN (@IGN) July 26, 2025

All eyes are on South Park after its Season 27 premiere went so hard on Trump that the White House issued a statement in response.

The teaser shows Trump groping Satan’s leg under a table during a public dinner event. Satan doesn’t look like he’s having a great time. The Season 27 premiere showed Trump lying in bed with Satan, so it looks like their relationship will be a running theme during the show.

But that scene wasn’t the main talking point coming out of the premiere. Rather, it was a scene showing a live-action Trump shuffling through the desert before removing all of his clothes. “His penis is teeny tiny, but his love for us is large,” a “South Park Pro-Trump” PSA voiceover says.

During the Comic-Con panel, Parker revealed the creative duo insisted Trump’s penis was shown in all its glory, even though they received a note from the network asking for it to be blurred. “They were like, okay, but we're gonna blur the penis. And I'm like, no, you’re not going to blur it."

Parker and Stone dodged blurring Trump's penis by adding little eyes and turning it into a character. But even doing that "was a whole conversation with a lot of grown up people for about four f***ing days. It's a character!"

Parker and Stone were then jokingly warned that there was a subpoena waiting for them among the cards containing panel questions. The response: "That's fine man, I'm ready."

In a new tweet, below, South Park revealed behind-the-scenes photos of the Trump desert scene, which confirms it was filmed on location rather than generated with AI, as some had thought.

A little behind the scenes. pic.twitter.com/M25RjoRooE

— South Park (@SouthPark) July 29, 2025

The F.C.C. recently approved Skydance’s $8 billion merger with Paramount, which had needed Trump administration approval. Neither Parker nor Stone addressed the merger, which they had criticized for delaying South Park Season 27's release date, during the panel, nor did they respond to the White House's statement.

However, Parker and Stone have a big-money deal of their own: a reported $1.5 billion contract to make 50 episodes of South Park over five years for Paramount.

Image credit: Comedy Central / YouTube.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Dell just launched one of the best laptop deals I've seen for students, road warriors, or pretty much anyone who's looking for a mobile workhorse. As part of the Dell Back to School Sale, the new-for-2025 Dell Plus 16 laptop is on sale for $999.99 after a $450 instant discount. Free shipping is included. This laptop is chock full of high-end upgrades you wouldn't expect to find in a laptop at this price point, including mostly metal construction, a gorgeous display, the newest Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, and a generous amount of memory and high-speed storage.

Save $450 Off the Dell 16 Plus Laptop, Now Just $999.99

Bose just activated a 10% off coupon code "REFURB10" that works on select refurbished products from its official eBay store. One of the best deals currently running is on its flagship Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar, it's biggest and most impressive soundbar speaker with Dolby Atmos and Bose TrueSpace Technology. You can get it on sale for just $501.30 after coupon. That's 50% off the $999 retail price and it even comes with an extended 2 year AllState warranty.

Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar for $501.30 (was $999)

Certified Refurbished

For all you students, road warriors, and people who have to work on the move, here's a fantastic deal on one of the nicest ultra-portable laptops out there. As part of the Dell Back to School Sale, the Dell XPS 13 13" Snapdragon X Elite laptop is on clearance for just $749.99 with free delivery. For 2025, Dell discontinued most of its named laptop models - including the Inspiron, XPS, and G-series (gaming) - which means this is a perfect opportunity to pick one up at a huge discount.

Dell XPS 13 Ultraportable Laptop for $750

28 Years Later is now available to watch online through digital marketplaces like Prime Video. If you missed this one in theaters, now’s your chance to get spooked in the comfort of your own home.

Set (you guessed it) 28 years after the original outbreak, 28 Years Later features a new cast, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who travels with his son to mainland Britain, where the Rage Virus has continued to thrive since being quarantined from the rest of Europe. Tom Jorgenson’s review of the movie for IGN says it's “as potent and timely an exploration of cultural strife as the original, and Danny Boyle and Alex Garland tug at the heartstrings with bloody, deadly skill.”

28 Years Later Now Available on Digital, Up for Preorder on Blu-ray