Nearly 30 years after it first hit theaters, Paul W.S. Anderson's Event Horizon is finally getting a prequel. IDW Publishing has revealed Event Horizon: Dark Descent, a five-issue comic book series that will explore the events leading up to the film and reveal what exactly happened to the original crew of the Event Horizon ship.

Dark Descent is written by Christian Ward (Batman: City of Madness) and drawn by Tristan Jones (Aliens: Defiance), with colors by Pip Martin (That Texas Blood) and cover art by Ward, Jeffrey Alan Love, Martin Simmonds, and Joshua Hixson.

Here's IDW's official description of Event Horizon: Dark Descent:

Embracing the hard-R rating of the shocking movie, EVENT HORIZON: DARK DESCENT #1 (of 5 issues) will lightspeed jump into comic shops this August. Taking place before the events of the film and completely accessible to new readers, this is the unbelievable story of the final fate of the original Event Horizon crew. What really happened to Captain Kilpack and the first crew as their ship journeyed across a nightmarish realm of torments beyond imagining? Abandon all hope as demonic forces - led by Paimon, the eyeless King of Hell - unleash agony and pure evil upon the crew in a gripping story.

“It's a huge privilege to be handed the keys of such a beloved film, one I take very seriously and I have some extremely exciting things up my sleeve," Ward said in a statement. "Big gory swings will be happening. You'll never see the film in the same light again.”

“I think what Christian's laying out and adding to the lore is going to surprise people," Ward said. "It's certainly given me a lot of gnarly, visceral stuff to chew on visually, which is always fun and knowing that this is being done directly in collaboration with the team behind the film certainly helps lock things in as something fans of the film will want to explore with us.”

Event Horizon: Dark Descent #1 will be released on August 20, 2025.

For more on the Event Horizon franchise, check out our retrospective on Event Horizon's 25th anniversary.

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

As eagle-eyed fans analyze each frame of the GTA 6 Trailer 2, one moment in particular has raised eyebrows.

In the scene where Lucia arrives home from community service to find Jason snoozing on the sofa, we see various items strewn about the lounge, including what looks like a PlayStation 5 next to the TV and, in the foreground, what looks like a DualSense controller.

A good night's sleep is essential for a healthy and productive day. If you're having trouble sleeping, especially when you're travelling and bedded in unfamiliar accomodations, then you might when to check out this deal today. Amazon is offering the diminutive Dreamegg portable white noise machine for a mere $8.16 after you clip the 15% off coupon and apply promo code "O4PRJZRG" during checkout. I bought one the last time this went on sale and it has worked as intended in a nursery, keeping the baby soundly asleep.

Dreamegg Portable White Noise Machine

Mother's Day lands on Saturday, May 11, which means that there's still time to order a gift and have it delivered by this weekend. And what better Mother's Day gift than a brand new iPad? Fortunately, Amazon has dropped the price of several of the latest iPad models, including the 11th-gen Apple iPad (A16), the 7th-gen iPad Air, and the iPad Mini (A17 Pro). These are the lowest prices we've seen and either match or beat the best deals we saw during Black Friday.

$50 Off New 2025 Apple iPad 10.9" (A16) Tablet

For most people, the iPad (not the Air, Mini, or Pro) is the best model to get because it offers all the benefits of iOS as well as snappy performance at an affordable price. The current generation model was released on March 12, 2025, over two years after the previous generation (October 2022). The upgrades include a more powerful processor (A16 vs A14), more RAM (6GB vs 4GB), and more storage (128GB vs 64GB). Best of all, the launch price of $349 is actually lower than when the previous generation model was released, which was $399.

The specs that have carried over are the 10.9" Liquid Retina 2360x1640 (264ppi) display, USB Type-C charging, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, and the same camera. It's also compatible with the Magic Folio keyboard so you can convert it into a mini laptop for better workflow, making it one of the best iPads for students, and the newer Apple Pencil with USB-C.

$100 Off the New 2025 Apple iPad Air (M3)

Amazon is offering the 7th generation Apple iPad Air M3 tablets at the lowest prices I've seen so far. The 11" model is down to $499 and the 13" model is down to $699, both after a $100 off instant discount. That's the best price we've seen for this 2025 model with the M3 chip. The 7th gen iPad Pro Air was released in March and is the current generation model. It's only one year newer than the 6th gen model and the only major upgrade is the jump from the M2 to the M3 chip.

Director Alex Garland is best known for his sci-fi-leaning horror movies (Annihilation, Ex Machina, and the screenplay for 28 Days Later), though last year’s Civil War certainly seems a fitting bridge to the hyper-realistic horror of Warfare. Ray Mendoza's experiences serving as a Navy SEAL during the Iraq War form the basis of the film, which Eric Goldman’s Warfare review describes as "evoking feelings of dread and terror usually reserved for the darkest horror movies.”

Despite a cast featuring plenty of familiar faces, including Cosmo Jarvis (Shogun), Charles Melton (Riverdale), and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), Warfare isn’t meant to be an easy watch. Depending on your inclinations, that may be all the reason to make a trip to the theaters or to watch this one in the comfort of your own home. If you're part of the latter group, I have some good news: Less than four weeks after its initial release in theaters, Warfare is available on demand.

How to Watch Warfare Online

Preorders are live for Warfare in 4K. The A24 website mentions that the release is expected to ship this summer, but an official release date is still up in the air. What we do know for sure are what special features are included in the physical release:

• Commentary with Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland, and Military Consultant Brian Philpot
• “Courage Under Fire: The Making of Warfare” Featurette
• Set of Six Collectible Postcards with Behind-the-Scenes Photography by Alex Brockdorff

Warfare Cast and Characters

Warfare was written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland. The movie stars the following actors:

• Joseph Quinn as Sam
• Charles Melton as Jake
• D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Ray Mendoza
• Will Poulter as Erik
• Cosmo Jarvis as Elliott Miller
• Kit Connor as Tommy
• Finn Bennett as John
• Taylor John Smith as Frank
• Michael Gandolfini as USMC LT McDonald
• Adain Bradley as USMC Sgt. Laerrus
• Noah Centineo as Brian/Zawi
• Evan Holtzman as Brock
• Henry Zaga as Aaron
• Alex Brockdorff as Mikey
• Nathan Altai as Farid
• Donya Hussen as Noor
• Aaron Deakins as Bob

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.

While the myths of ancient Greece bubble through the substrate of many board games – take Horrified: Greek Monsters, for example – there are surprisingly few that place them front and center. Narrow the frame to the way many people think about the age, one of conquest, bloodshed and warfare, and there are even fewer. Which might partly explain the success of 2009s Cyclades, a clever marriage of myth, wargame and more subtle strategic mechanisms. Now it’s back in a spanking new edition with some fun tweaks from its original expansions.

What's in the Box

Aficionados of the original Cyclades might recall its big, oblong box, but this new Legendary Edition comes in a standard-sized square package that’s crammed with goodies. There’s no longer a central map board, which has been replaced by board modules that you can rearrange to make different maps of different sizes, depending on the player count. You can even flip them over for a more advanced map variant. The large board to track gods, monsters and heroes still remains.

There are punch-out cardboard strips to represent the gods, while the heroes and monsters get a deck of cards each, plus cardboard standees for those that move around the map. Other punch-out tokens include various buildings and upgrades for the map, plus a horde of cardboard coins. Most of this gets tucked away neatly in a treasure-chest like box insert with a flip-up lid, a smart extra design feature to help you organize and pack away the game.

Each player gets a screen, a pile of cardboard control tokens, and a mix of wooden army and navy pieces all in their chosen color. There are six to choose from, rather than the original five, plus a seventh set of gray pieces that represent mercenaries, another new inclusion in this edition. These are nicely cut, but nothing to write home about. If you want to make your game pop even more on the table, there are plastic miniature upgrades available separately for the troops and the monsters, plus metal coins to chink satisfyingly in your hand.

Rules and How It Plays

The original Cyclades was an early example of a design trying to weave together the chaotic combat that characterized American gaming with the more refined sensibilities found in Germany. You start each round with that more genteel aspect, bidding in an auction for the favor of one of the available gods, which will determine your available actions for the rest of the turn. Some gods are face down, so that there are only as many available as the number of players, meaning someone has to take the weakest – and cheapest – god, Apollo. Each round one of the face-down gods and one of the face-up gods gets flipped, so all of them get cycled through.

Not all the gods are created equal. The war god, Ares, allows you to recruit or move troops, for example, while wise Athena allows you to build universities and recruit philosophers, neither of which have any immediate effect but can, in time, contribute toward victory. To up the ante, the higher bid slots begin to jump in increments of two, then five, while players will still need to consider holding resources to pay for their actions, most of which also cost money. Finally there’s Apollo who, while free, does very little, allowing you merely to up the income from two of your provinces.

All of this means competition in the bidding can be intense, depending on the board situation, with winning or losing a particular god having a huge impact on the game state. It’s a fraught, exciting auction when there’s a lot riding on a turn, with various other considerations feeding into the bids. Sometimes it’s worth trying to outbid an opponent just to keep yourself safe from a land or sea attack. Sometimes it’s worth leaving yourself short-changed in terms of paying for actions just to corner a particular deity. It’s a dynamic phase, with plenty of interaction.

Winning requires you to control three metropolis pieces. You can gain these by swapping four different basic buildings, each of which is granted by a different god, or by cashing in four of Athena’s philosophers. One of the other gods, Hera, allows you to recruit heroes, powerful on-board pieces with special powers that can also be sacrificed for a metropolis. Mighty Ajax, for instance, counts as two armies and can be exchanged for a metropolis if you control seven land spaces. Which brings us neatly onto the last way to gain one: take it off another player via military conquest.

Warfare in Cyclades is short and brutal. In a contested land or sea space you tot up the units on each side together with the value of a dice roll with the loser removing a piece. Repeat until only one side remains. While the dice only goes up to three, this can still be a surprisingly swingy affair. Resources, however, keep a cap on the violence. Each player only has eight army and navy pieces and, of course, winning the bid for Ares is the main way to gain and move troops, all of which limits how many campaigns you can conduct.

In this edition, however, there are sneaky ways round these restrictions. Hera not only allows you to gain heroes but also mercenary troops, meaning you can expand on your paltry tally of eight. And all the gods allow you to make heroic moves, which essentially means you can move and fight with any army that includes a hero. This gives the game a surprising amount of maneuverability, clashing not only over valuable buildings but spaces that provide income, and makes heroes particularly valuable pieces to risk in a fight.

It also means turns that feature Hera or Ares can feel heavily weighted in terms of tilting the game state. And if everyone wants a piece of the action, that can very much be the case. Cyclades, however, is a game about taking the rough with the smooth. You can prosper without violence by taking cheaper bids on weaker gods and building up your infrastructure. But everyone around the table has to be okay with a game where your attempt to play economically can potentially be undermined by a burst of conflict. It’s all about knowing when to change tack, balancing the time to strike out with the time to shepherd resources, but having war and peace so close to one another in the same package can sometimes feel jarring.

Either approach can really benefit from mythological creatures, which you can purchase with any god other than Apollo, but more peaceable players are more likely to be able to afford them. They’re pretty powerful and so work as an effective balance against big bids on warlike gods. Most are one-shot effects, like the Satyr who lets you steal a philosopher from another player, or the Harpy, who destroys an army. Others, however, get a piece on the board which you can keep and move from turn to turn if you’re willing to sacrifice priestesses, gained by winning the auction for Zeus. These include horrors like the kraken, who simply wipes out all fleets in whatever space it enters. Pushing these beasts around the map is enormous fun, so long as you can afford the priestesses to do so.

Where to Buy

• Get it at Amazon
• Get it at Atomic Empire
• Get it at Hachette
• Get it at Kickstarter

No matter which platform you prefer, there's an excellent variety of video game deals to check out right now. Whether you're gaming on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PC, we've rounded up the best offers to help you get more for your money. This includes the excellent PS5 Slim and Astro Bot bundle for PlayStation fans, and PC players can score a discount right now on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered at GMG and Fanatical.

While not on sale, we've also included where you can preorder a physical copy of Elden Ring Nightreign so you can secure your next journey to The Lands Between. A nice bonus is that Best Buy's offering a free $10 gift card with your purchase on that one, so you can enjoy a little treat alongside the game itself. Alongside this preorder and the previously mentioned deals, you can see more of our favorite video game deals below.

Best PC Game Deals

PS5 Slim + Astro Bot Bundle

Preorder Elden Ring Nightreign

Best Physical Video Game Deals

If you're looking to save on physical games right now, there are plenty of deals worth checking out across PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. We've included just a few of our favorites above, but if you'd like to see more game deals for each platform, check out our individual roundups for these consoles: the best PlayStation deals, the best Xbox deals, and the best Nintendo Switch deals.

Best PlayStation VR 2 Deals

Best Xbox Accessory Deals

Best PS5 SSD Deals

Best Gaming PC Deals

Do you prefer to play on a dedicated PC tower? Navigating the options online can be quite the ordeal. Desk space, portability, and price point are often factors in the decision. However, there are some great PC deals that pop up every now and again that are worth jumping on. One of our favorite deals at the moment is on the Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $2,449.99. To see even more PC deals, check out our roundup of the best gaming PC deals.

We at IGN have long been big fans of writer Kieron Gillen, whose Immortal X-Men won IGN's Best Comic Book Series or Original Graphic Novel of 2022 award. So when Gillen sings the praises of another comic, we're always going to sit up and take notice. That's why Acid Box, a new graphic novel heavily steeped in the UK's '90s music scene, is now on our radar this year. Gillen writes, "Dancefloor history meets family history via psychic reality-skipping quest. Take your brain to another dimension. Pay close attention.”

With the crowdfunding campaign for Acid Box now live, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of this stylish graphic novel. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:

Acid Box is a collaboration between writer Sara Kenney and artists James Devlin, Emma Vieceli, and Ria Grix, with colors by Sofie Dodgson, and lettering by Hassan Otsman-Elhaou. The book is being published through Avery Hill.

Here's the official description for Acid Box:

In Acid Box, Jade Nyo just wants to listen to some music and to get wasted. And then, late one night while out clubbing with her brother, Jade meets a mysterious trio of women who call themselves the Liminals, who tell Jade she must help them avert a global disaster. They give Jade an Acid Box, which controls portals through space and time. Only the Acid Box is broken, and when Jade travels back in time to 1994, she discovers that changing history might be too much for just one person to fix....

“Is your happy place a bouncing dance floor?” said Kenney in a statement. “Are you nostalgic for the parties of the ‘90s? Are you determined to have fun even on the brink of disaster? Do messy main characters give you life? Is supporting art communities and youth access to those communities important to you? Do you just love comics? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you will not want to miss Acid Box.”

"Telling a story that combines music, time travel, and adventure, Acid Box is an emotional graphic novel about the state of climate change around the globe, and an important commentary on personal responsibility," said Avery Hill Publisher Ricky Miller. "When Sara contacted me about Avery Hill getting involved in putting out this book, I was immediately attracted to the themes and subject matter. It’s a story about power, control, and nature, as well as dancing, recreational drugs and dance music in the '90s! As someone who is from the '90s I could identify with this, although I was too nerdy to go to raves; I was probably at home reading comics. This is a really enjoyable read for those who were there in the '90s and even for those who weren’t there (and if you remember it then you probably weren’t there anyway, right?)."

The Kickstarter campaign for Acid Box is live now.

For more on the world of comics, learn more about what to expect from Jonathan Hickman's Imperial, and check out our exclusive interview with the writers of TMNT: The Last Ronin II.

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

While the bow has always been a powerful weapon in Elden Ring, generally, it’s meant as a support weapon – something you use to pull aggro, or to weaken an enemy from afar before switching to your main weapon once they get into range, or to cause that one bird to fall to its death and farm its runes over and over again. But when you’re playing as the Ironeye in Nightreign, the bow is the heart and soul of the class, which results in a playstyle that’s very much unlike any of the other eight classes in Nightreign, and one that is probably the closest thing to a support class that Nightreign offers. Check out Ironeye in the exclusive gameplay video below.

The first thing I noticed while playing with the Ironeye is that they are a very squishy class. They can of course use any weapon they pick up, but the main reason why you’ll want to always have a bow handy is mainly so that you can stay out of the fray and not have to worry about taking hits, because it doesn't take many to put you down, especially early on. Fortunately, your starting bow is pretty solid. It does decent damage and has Mighty Shot as its skill, which lets you attack from super far away, deal extra damage, and deal some extra poise damage as well.

It's worth mentioning as well that the way bows work has been largely reworked in Nightreign. For one, they fire much faster, and you’re able to move much quicker while shooting at a locked-on enemy. You also thankfully don’t need a supply of arrows anymore. This does mean that you’re stuck with whatever arrow type your weapon comes with, but it’s definitely nice to not have to worry about how many arrows you have left or potentially running out of arrows in a boss fight. As for other neat new touches: There’s a new animation for when you shoot an arrow out of a roll; you’re able to do cool acrobatic stuff like run up walls, leap off, and loose an arrow for style points; you don’t have to go into first-person mode when manually aiming, and move much faster while doing so; the strong attack can fire a spread of three arrows that can hit multiple enemies at once; and yes, you can now backstab or use a visceral attack on a downed enemy with an arrow. Basically, everything that was missing from the bow in order to make it a viable primary weapon in base Elden Ring feels accounted for here in Nightreign.

The Ironeye’s main skill is Marking, which is a very fast dashing dagger attack that goes through enemies and leaves them with a mark that will add extra damage from all sources. It's got a very short cool down, which means you can basically always have it up on a boss as long as you’re being attentive to when the debuff is active. It’s also a great mobility tool as it lets you pass right through enemies to get out of a bad spot.

Ironeye’s ultimate is Single Shot, which as the name implies, is a single powerful shot. This is basically Mighty Shot on steroids. It takes a bit to charge up, but you’re fully invulnerable during the animation, and once it’s fired, the shot deals big damage and goes through virtually everything straight ahead, making it great at taking out groups of enemies all at once.

What really makes the Ironeye shine on a squad, though, is how good they are at reviving allies from a safe distance. You see, the way ally revival works in Nightreign is that when someone goes down, there is a little partitioned circle that fills up above their character. By attacking your downed ally, you’re able to empty that circle little by little, and when it’s all emptied, they will return to life. Most classes need to get up close and put themselves at significant risk to try and revive an ally, or they must expend mana to cast a ranged spell, or maybe even use their ultimate skill, but the Ironeye can do it safely from a distance and without using any resources. That’s an extremely valuable thing to have, and it can be the difference-maker between a successful and failed run. The downside is that every time an ally faints, another partition is added to the circle, and while Ironeye is great at rezzing allies that have only gone down once or twice, they will struggle to revive an ally that requires all three parts of the circle to be cleared, since they just don't have that kind of damage output from far away, unless they use their ultimate just for revival.

While they may not be able to dish out the same kind of damage as some of the other classes, the Ironeye’s presence is always felt on a squad. Between their marking ability that makes everyone hit just a little bit harder, to their passive that increases the amount of items that everyone finds, to their mob clearing ult, and to their unique ability to easily and safely revive people from a distance, the Ironeye’s utility is nearly unmatched among the rest of the nightfarers.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit

We love a graphic novel with a good backstory behind it, and Host Mortem certainly has one. This extremely meta book is not only inspired by classic film noir like The Big Sleep, it's written by and stars two former hosts of the Carmen Sandiego game shows, Kevin Shinick and Greg Lee.

With the Kickstarter campaign for Host Mortem now live, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of the graphic novel. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Host Mortem is created and written by Shinick, who previously hosted Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego? before going on to write for shows like Robot Chicken and comics like W.E.B. of Spider-Man. Lee was previously the host of Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? The book is illustrated by Damien Torres (Marvel Crisis Protocol) and Andrea Schiavone (Gangsters Versus Nazis), colored by Pippa Bowland (Judge Dredd, Project Cryptid), and lettered by Taylor Esposito (Red Hood and The Outlaws).

Host Mortem sees Shinick and Lee dragged through time after an ill-fated Comic-Con appearance. Arriving in 1947, they find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery involving the stars of The Big Sleep, and only Shinick and Lee's vast knowledge of Hollywood trivia can save them.

“I think what Kevin’s come up with is simply brilliant and it continues to be a blast just getting to be a small part of it,” said Lee in a statement. “With his hilarious and nuanced writing I actually feel I’ve spent time in 1947. Why I didn’t buy some potential stock or at least win an Oscar pool while I was there is beyond me. Instead, Kevin puts me in the middle of a murder scene and expects me to rely on my game show trivia to help him solve the crime. But the real crime is that we don’t know the first thing about being detectives so it’ll probably come down to something random like knowing Humphrey Bogart’s middle name. (It was DeForest, by the way. A fact I know because I’m a game show host and not a detective!) Luckily, Kevin’s a great friend and a talented writer, so this project is nothin’ but “win-win-and more win” for me and, if I’m being honest, for all our backers and readers.”

“Working on Host Mortem has been the biggest and most rewarding story of my career so far,” said Torres. “Comics has been my dream, but film is my first love, and I’ve been afforded the opportunity to bring that love into this graphic novel. As someone who is a fan of the likes of Sean Phillips, Greg Smallwood, Lee Weeks, David Mazzucchelli, and Alex Toth to name a few, channeling the use of heavy black has been key to nailing the noir tone. Researching the 1940s and grounding the scenes with iconic LA landmarks has helped bring pages to life, and I’ve worked to make that authenticity show through in each panel. Watching a good number of Bogart and Bacall films hasn’t hurt one bit either. I’d be remiss in not mentioning how fun and thorough Kevin Shinick’s writing is, and an honor it’s been to work with someone who happened to play a part in my childhood!”

The crowdfunding campaign for Host Mortem is live now.

For more comics with ridiculous backstories, check out our exclusive preview of the heavy metal-themed Dark Regards.

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

Rockstar has finally revealed Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 2, so naturally, fans have one question on their minds: what song is playing in the new GTA 6 trailer?

The two-and-a-half-minute video puts all of the action and romance of Vice City at the forefront but doesn’t let viewers forget that Rockstar loves to pack its soundtrack full of incredible music. GTA 6 won’t break tradition, with today’s second trailer backed by Hot Together by The Pointer Sisters. It’s another ’80s hit that doesn’t get much radio play in 2025, and it does a great job of setting the tone for the next open-world sandbox from the Grand Theft Auto team.

Hot Together is the title track from the California trio’s 1986 pop R&B record and comes in at four minutes and 13 seconds long. Aside from being a steamy dance cut very obviously born in the ‘80s, Hot Together already feels right at home in this revamped version of Vice City. It also doesn’t crack The Pointer Sisters’ top 10 most popular songs on Spotify at the time of this piece’s publication, but there’s a good chance that will change as the day rolls on.

GTA 6 was properly announced with its first trailer in December 2023. It was a dreamy look at Rockstar’s new world that features Florida-born rockstar Tom Petty’s Love Is a Long Road. Along with a swift boost to the song’s popularity, the footage had fans spinning theories about how the Full Moon Fever track might be teasing more about what GTA 6’s story and characters have in store. These same fans will surely be analyzing Hot Together while we wait for GTA 6 to launch next year.

Following a recent delay, Grand Theft Auto 6’s PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S release date is set for May 26, 2026. For more on Rockstar’s highly anticipated video game, you can read up on why GTA 6 Trailer 2 has PC players worried. You can also check out the sea of screenshots published just after today’s reveal here.

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).

We’re finally getting a taste of what lies beyond The Rise of Skywalker — but not from Shawn Levy. Yet, at least. While the Deadpool and Wolverine filmmaker’s upcoming Star Wars film Star Wars: Starfighter is still highly anticipated, fans will now get to explore the Star Wars universe in the aftermath of the 2019 film a little sooner, through a new young adult novel titled Star Wars: The Last Order.

The book, which was revealed via publisher Penguin Random House’s website, will take a deeper dive into John Boyega’s beloved hero Finn and Naomi Ackie’s resistance ally Jannah, who fans met in Rise of Skywalker. The publisher's official synopsis for the novel, which was written by Kwame Mbalia, reads:

“Following the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the Resistance rescues a ship full of young passengers who had been kidnapped by the First Order. As Finn and Jannah set out to find the First Order officer responsible before he can endanger any more children, the two former stormtroopers must wrestle with their own complicated pasts as soldiers of the oppressive regime.”

This marks the first Star Wars project that explores the universe after the events of Rise of Skywalker, despite not being the first planned project to do so — and as for Levy’s post-Rise of Skywalker output, it’s definitely still firmly on the horizon.

Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy spoke on the project in an interview with Deadline back in February, where she explained how the Star Wars timeline will shift with this new entry. “It’s all post-[the first] nine,” she said. “Shawn’s is a standalone Star Wars story that'll take place post-nine, maybe five or six years out.” Last month, the writer on the project, Jonathan Tropper, reconfirmed his enthusiasm for the film, telling Screen Rant, "I hope it's on the way sooner than you think." Days later, the release date for the film was announced — with Ryan Gosling confirmed to star — at Star Wars Celebration Japan.

According to the Penguin Random House, Star Wars: The Last Order will be released on October 21, 2025… and we still have some waiting to do when it comes to Levy’s film, which will be released on May 28, 2027.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

The Pokémon Company has announced a new split expansion for the Pokémon TCG, continuing the Scarlet & Violet series. Titled Scarlet & Violet: Black Bolt and Scarlet & Violet: White Flare, both expansions will release on July 18, 2025, at participating retailers worldwide.

The expansions focus on the 156 Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region. Each Unova Pokémon will appear as either an illustration rare or a special illustration rare card, with different versions available in Black Bolt and White Flare products.

Scarlet & Violet: Black Bolt will feature the Legendary Pokémon Zekrom, while Scarlet & Violet: White Flare will feature Reshiram. Both sets will introduce three types of parallel foil patterns, including two that display either a rainbow Poké Ball or Master Ball design across the card.

The expansions will also bring back card elements from the Black & White series, such as nostalgic foil styles and Basic Energy cards using the original Black & White series designs.

Pokémon TCG: Black Bolt and White Flare Preorders

Preorders for Black Bolt and White Flare haven’t been confirmed yet, but they’re expected to go live around mid-May. That timeline matches the reveal-to-preorder window we saw with another 2025 release: Pokémon TCG: Destined Rivals, which launches this month.

Stay locked to IGN for preorder updates and wider Pokémon TCG stock news, and follow @IGNDeals on Twitter for the latest drops. In the meantime, here are the confirmed release dates for each set in the new Black Bolt and White Flare expansions.

Elden Ring is headed for the Nintendo Switch 2 with its Tarnished Edition, and it looks like FromSoftware's massive adventure will have a few new bonuses in tow, including new classes and appearances for Torrent.

As reported on by Famitsu, an event called "FROMSOFTWARE GAMES EVENT Spring 2025" was held in Tokyo on May 6. The presentation revealed some new details about what's coming to Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, including two new character classes.

The two classes are, as translated by RPG Site, the "Knight of Ides" and "Heavy Armored Knight." Not many details seem to have been revealed outside a name and a look. Those two sets will reportedly be two of the four new armors in the Tarnished Edition, with the other two available to obtain in-game. More new weapons and skills were also teased.

For those who care for their steed Torrent, the spirit horse is also getting three new appearances. While this content will be part of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, which also contains the Shadow of the Erdtree content, FromSoftware has also said this content will come to other platforms via the Tarnished Pack DLC. Per RPG Site, FromSoftware said this DLC pack would be available at a low price.

Some new classes are an interesting addition, though it makes sense as players will largely be starting new files on Switch 2 and might want to shake things up. Getting a little bit of new content right away might be appealing to those who have already played quite a bit of Elden Ring on other platforms.

Elden Ring has reached a significant number of people, as Elden Ring has officially cleared 30 million sales worldwide. It's an absolutely titanic achievement, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that number climb higher as it hits the Switch 2.

No release date has been set yet for Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition on the Switch 2, or for when the Tarnished Pack DLC will arrive, other than sometime in 2025.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

With the release of Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 and a significant update to its official website, all eyes were on the launch platforms accompanying the new release date of May 26, 2026.

At the end of the trailer, we see the release date alongside the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, confirming the consoles remain part of GTA 6’s release. Indeed, Trailer 2 was captured on a PS5 (the trailer specifically mentions PS5, as opposed to PS5 Pro).

So, what does this mean for the inevitable PC launch, or perhaps even a release on the Nintendo Switch 2? Some had wondered, perhaps even hoped, that GTA 6’s push to May 2026 would cause a rethink at Rockstar and parent company Take-Two and spark a simultaneous release on PC. The lack of mention of PC here perhaps suggests otherwise.

It’s an omission in keeping with developer Rockstar’s playbook for its previous games, but in 2025 and certainly in 2026 it feels outdated. And, given the increasing importance of the PC for a multiplatform game’s success, is GTA 6’s no-show on PC a missed opportunity or even a mistake?

IGN put that question to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick in an interview in February, and in his response he teased GTA 6’s eventual release on PC.

“So with Civ 7 it's available on console and PC and Switch right away,” Zelnick said of Firaxis' recently launched Civilization 7. “With regard to others in our lineup, we don't always go across all platforms simultaneously. Historically, Rockstar has started with some platforms and then historically moved to other platforms.”

As well as Trailer 2, Rockstar has released 70 brand new screenshots showcasing the characters and places of Grand Theft Auto VI.

These high quality images show off characters such as Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, as well as the supporting cast.

But we also have some fantastic images showing off the places we'll get to explore when GTA 6 launches in May 2026. These include Vice City itself, but we also get to go beyond the city boundaries to places such as Leonida Keys and Mount Kalaga.

These screenshots, as well as Trailer 2 itself, give is a good idea of what to expect from GTA 6's story and setting, although we're yet to see official gameplay.

Jason Duval

Lucia Caminos

Cal Hampton

Boobie Ike

Dre'Quan Priest

Real Dimez

Raul Bautista

Brian Heder

Vice City

Leonida Keys

Grassrivers

Port Gellhorn

Ambrosia

Mount Kalaga

Last week, Rockstar delayed GTA 6 from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026, in a significant push to the world's most anticipated game. The GTA 6 official website still lists GTA 6 for launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, suggesting a PC release will come after.

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.

Director Joe Dante is best known for making Gremlins and Gremlins 2. But in 1998, he made another similar movie called Small Soldiers, which is now getting the 4K treatment with a sweet steelbook release. If you've been hoping to add this one into your 4K physical media collection for a good hit of '90s nostalgia, now's your chance. It's currently up for preorder at a few different retailers for $30.99 (see here at Amazon) and is set to release this summer on July 22. Bonus features haven't been revealed for the steelbook yet, but we'll make sure to update this once they're out.

Preorder Small Soldiers 4K Steelbook

The Small Soldiers steelbook cover is a very fun design, bursting with bright red and blue colors that will look great slotted in your physical media collection. It also features Commando leader Chip Hazard and Gorgonite leader Archer facing off on the front of it and the GloboTech X1000 chip on the back that brings these figures to life. If you're a fan of the film, it's definitely worth preordering.

Alongside this Small Soldiers 4K steelbook, there are plenty more films and shows releasing soon on 4K that are worth picking up for your library. If you're looking for more classics to purchase, it's worth checking out the Jaws 50th Anniversary 4K steelbook and the Jurassic Park Trilogy 4K steelbook that are available to preorder right now. These are a must for any physical media collection, especially in high-quality 4K UHD.

More Upcoming 4K UHD Movies

There's plenty more where these came from, too. Our roundup of upcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases can point you in the direction of even more movies and films coming out over the next few months in a physical format. This includes exciting movies like Mickey 17 and the first season of Fallout, which is getting a 4K steelbook.

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

Lots of Pokémon TCG sets are feeling like gold dust right now, but Amazon UK has just provided a restock of great booster bundles — like those from Temporal Forces and Shrouded Fable — with plenty of others still available as well.

While we're still waiting to get invites to buy the Prismatic Evolutions Accessory Pouch Special Collection & 151 Blooming Waters Premium Collection at Amazon UK, these will be good enough to keep us going in the meantime.

Temporal Forces is back in two assortments over at Amazon UK: the Booster Display Box with 18 booster packs for £71.82 and the 36-pack version from £159.99. If you've yet to add any of the powerful ACE SPEC cards to your collection, here's the ideal chance to try and pull one or two.

Next, there's the Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box from the Scarlet & Violet set. For £44.99, you get nine boosters, a Pecharunt foil card, 65 card sleeves, 45 Energy cards, damage counter dice, a coin-flip die, two condition markers, a player's guide, and a stylish collector's box where you can keep everything tucked away.

Paradox Pokemon fans will also be pleased to know that the Paradox Fury Premium Collection is back in stock as well. Based on the Paradox versions of Johto's Legendary Dog trio, the premium collection offers seven Paradox Fury boosters along with the foil cards Walking Wake ex, Raging Bolt ex, and Gouging Fire ex.

In addition to a magnetic three-card holder, the collection even comes with an oversized display version of the Raging Bolt card.

If you're still after some Journey Together boosters, Amazon UK has those in stock too — selling 36-pack display boxes for £179.99, 14% down from the £209.99 price it was before. Although, the nine-booster Journey Together Elite Trainer box is also available, but for a hefty £74.99, way above RRP of £44.99

For more Paradox Pokemon cards, the retailer also has a handful of the 36-pack display boxes of Paradox Rift left as well for £153.98.

However, if you don't need as many boosters from that set, Amazon is also selling a handy Paradox Rift Iron Valiant Elite Trainer Box & Arctibax Triple Pack bundle for £57.98.

With it, you'll get 12 boosters in total, a foil Scream Tail or Iron Bundle promo card, 65 Iron Valiant Sleeves, Energy cards, a player's guide, and an Arctibax foil promo card.

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

Rockstar has released Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2, hot on the heels of announcing a big delay to the game.

The trailer, below, was captured on PlayStation 5, and offers a detailed look at what to expect from GTA 6's story.

"Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them," Rockstar said in the official description.

"But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive."

Rockstar's GTA 6 website now contains lots of new information on the Vice City-set game, including bios for playable protagonists Jason and Lucia and the cast of supporting characters. Here's the official blurb, alongside brand new screenshots.

Grand Theft Auto VI Characters

Jason Duval

Jason wants an easy life, but things just keep getting harder. Jason grew up around grifters and crooks. After a stint in the Army trying to shake off his troubled teens, he found himself in the Keys doing what he knows best, working for local drug runners. It might be time to try something new.

Meeting Lucia could be the best or worst thing to ever happen to him. Jason knows how he'd like it to turn out but right now, it's hard to tell.

Lucia Caminos

Lucia’s father taught her to fight as soon as she could walk. Life has been coming at her swinging ever since. Fighting for her family landed her in the Leonida Penitentiary. Sheer luck got her out. Lucia’s learned her lesson — only smart moves from here.

More than anything, Lucia wants the good life her mom has dreamed of since their days in Liberty City — but instead of half-baked fantasies, Lucia is prepared to take matters into her own hands.

Fresh out of prison and ready to change the odds in her favor, Lucia’s committed to her plan — no matter what it takes. A life with Jason could be her way out.

Cal Hampton

What if everything on the internet was true? Jason’s friend and a fellow associate of Brian’s, Cal feels safest hanging at home, snooping on Coast Guard comms with a few beers and some private browser tabs open.

The psychopaths are in charge. Get used to it. Cal is at the low tide of America and happy there. Casual paranoia loves company, but his friend Jason has bigger plans.

Boobie Ike

It's all about heart — the Jack of Hearts. Boobie is a local Vice City legend — and acts like it. One of the few to transform his time in the streets into a legitimate empire spanning real estate, a strip club, and a recording studio — Boobie's all smiles until it's time to talk business.

Top quality cuts. Boobie might seem like he's just out for himself, but it's his partnership with the young aspiring music mogul Dre'Quan for Only Raw Records that he's most invested in — now they just need a hit.

Dre'Quan Priest

Only Raw... Records. Dre'Quan was always more of a hustler than a gangster. Even when he was dealing on the streets to make ends meet, breaking into music was the goal.

You're with the label now. Now that he's signed the Real Dimez, Dre'Quan's days of booking acts into Boobie's strip club might be numbered as he sets his sights on the Vice City scene.

Real Dimez

Viral videos. Viral hooks. Bae-Luxe and Roxy aka Real Dimez have been friends since high school — girls with the savvy to turn their time shaking down local dealers into cold, hard cash via spicy rap tracks and a relentless social media presence.

One hit away from fame. An early hit single with local rapper DWNPLY took Real Dimez to new heights. Now, after five years and a whole lot of trouble, they’re signed to Only Raw Records, hoping lightning can strike twice.

Raul Bautista

Experience counts. Confidence, charm, and cunning — Raul’s a seasoned bank robber always on the hunt for talent ready to take the risks that bring the biggest rewards.

A professional adapts. Raul's recklessness raises the stakes with every score. Sooner or later, his crew will have to double down or pull their chips from the table.

Brian Heder

Nothing better than a Mudslide at sunset. Brian's a classic drug runner from the golden age of smuggling in the Keys. Still moving product through his boat yard with his third wife, Lori, Brian's been around long enough to let others do his dirty work.

Looks like a Leonida beach bum — moves like a great white shark. Brian’s letting Jason live rent-free at one of his properties — so long as he helps with local shakedowns, and stops by for Lori’s sangria once in a while.

Rockstar also released information and screenshots on the explorable places in the state of Leonida, GTA 6's take on Florida.

Grand Theft Auto VI cities, places, and environments

Vice City

Everything in Excess. We're a long way from the '80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America.

The glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city. Each neighborhood has something to offer, from the pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands of Ocean Beach, to the bustling panaderías of Little Cuba and the bootleg brands of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, out to the VC Port, the cruise ship capital of the world.

Leonida Keys

Gateway to Paradise. The dress code is casual, the bars are loaded.

Life in this tropical archipelago isn’t flashy but it’s easy. Get your buzz on and pull up a deck chair but look out — you are right on the doorstep of some of the most beautiful and dangerous waters in all of America.

Grassrivers

Welcome to the Wetlands. The untamable jewel of Leonida’s crown.

You never know what lies beneath the surface of this primordial expanse. The gators may be the most famous attraction, but there are far deadlier predators and weirder discoveries among the mangroves.

Port Gellhorn

Live Hard. This is Leonida’s forgotten coast.

Cheap motels, shut-down attractions, and empty strip malls won’t bring the tourists back, but there’s a new economy in this once-popular vacation spot. It’s fueled by malt liquor, painkillers, and truck stop energy drinks. Jump on a dirt bike and hold onto your wallet.

Ambrosia

Keeping Leonida Sweet. The battle for the health and wealth of Leonida begins here.

In the heart of Leonida, American industry and old school values still reign supreme — whatever the cost. The Allied Crystal sugar refinery provides the jobs, while the local biker gang provides almost everything else.

Mount Kalaga

Wild, Wild Country. Room to breathe on the state's northern fringes.

A national landmark up against the state’s northern border, Mount Kalaga offers prime hunting, fishing, and off-road trails. In the lush surrounding backwoods, hillbilly mystics and paranoid radicals live far from the prying eyes of the government.

Last week, Rockstar delayed GTA 6 from fall 2025 to May 26, 2026, in a significant push to the world's most anticipated game. The GTA 6 official website still lists GTA 6 for launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, suggesting a PC release will come after.

Rockstar released GTA 6 Trailer 1 in December 2023, which means Trailer 2 arrives one year, five months, and two days later. For comparison's sake, the time between GTA 5's Trailers 1 and 2 was one year, five months, and 28 days.

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.

Microsoft has confirmed Wave 1 of the Xbox Game Pass May 2025 lineup.

In a post on Xbox Wire, Microsoft revealed 12 games hitting its subscription service, taking us up to May 20. The biggest hitter here is Doom: The Dark Ages, the latest game in id Software’s world-famous first-person shooter series. That is, as a Microsoft-owned game, a day-one Game Pass launch. But it’s not the only day-one Game Pass launch of May 2025.

Available today, May 6, is Dredge (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S), which hits Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard. Here’s the official blurb, from Microsoft:

Dredge is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.

May 7 is a big day for Game Pass, with a number of additions: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) on Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard; Dungeons of Hinterberg (Console), now on Game Pass Standard; Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (Xbox Series X|S), now on Game Pass Standard; and Metal Slug Tactics (Console), also now on Game Pass Standard.

Here’s a big one: May 8 sees Revenge of the Savage Planet (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) hit Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as a day-one title.

In a future knocked off its axis by corporate greed and stupidity, you have been made redundant and abandoned on the far edge of space with little gear and no safety net. You must explore every nook and cranny, collect dozens of upgrades, and turn over every mysterious alien rock if you want to get revenge on your former employer and return to Earth.

Also on May 8, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed (Cloud, Console, and PC) joins Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard.

Join the legendary Turtle brothers straight from the sewer and slide into this new adventure of shell-shocking proportions. With the help of April’s insightful reports from the streets and Splinter’s sage guidance, gear up to fight crime and unravel an epic saga of justice and chaos!

Moving on to May 13, we’ve got Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (Cloud and Console) on Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass Standard.

Making a return to the Game Pass library! Fight together with your friends against the forces of Chaos and Skaven in this epic 4-player co-op game set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world. Vermintide 2 expands the intense first-person combat with a brand-new enemy faction, 15 new career paths, talent trees, new weapons, an improved loot system, and more.

The main event is of course Doom: The Dark Ages (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S), on May 15 when the shooter hits Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass day-one.

Doom: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the Doom Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern Doom series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the Doom Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell. Get a head start on slaying demons with the Premium Upgrade, including up to 2-Day Early Access, the campaign DLC at launch, and more.

A day later, on May 16, Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (Cloud, Console, and PC) launches on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass as yet another day-one title.

Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo is a papercraft adventure game where you’ll meet the many good and not-so-good folks of Limbo, a place where souls with deep regrets are cursed into repeating the same day on a loop.

Rounding out the May 2025 Wave 1 lineup on May 20 are Firefighting Simulator: The Squad (Cloud, Console, and PC) across Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard, and Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (Cloud, Console, and PC) also across Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Standard.

Xbox Game Pass May 2025 Wave 1 lineup:

• Dredge (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 6
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 7
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Dungeons of Hinterberg (Console) – May 7
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (Xbox Series X|S) – May 7
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Metal Slug Tactics (Console) – May 7
  Now with Game Pass Standard
• Revenge of the Savage Planet (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 8
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 8
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (Cloud and Console) – May 13
  Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard
• Doom: The Dark Ages (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – May 15
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 16
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
• Firefighting Simulator: The Squad (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 20
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 20
  Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard

Leaving Xbox Game Pass on May 15:

The following games are leaving the Game Pass library on May 15. As always, you can use your membership discount to save up to 20% to keep them in your library.

• Brothers A Tale of Two Sons (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Chants of Sennaar (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dune: Spice Wars (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Hauntii (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• The Big Con (Cloud, Console, and PC)

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.

This article contains spoilers for Thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts finally joined the MCU pantheon last week after a long wait and high anticipation. While none of us were quite ready for the film’s emotional exploration of depression and the quest to find one’s purpose, it was a welcome addition to Marvel’s traditional storytelling that clearly resonated with fans. While I’m on board with all of that, you might have already read just how much Thunderbolt’s ending missed the mark for me and, unfortunately, I have one more bone to pick with the MCU. Not to put too fine a point on it or anything, but I would like to know what in the hell this franchise is doing with Bucky Barnes. His trajectory in the last two films has been strange at best, and where we leave him at the end of Thunderbolts is downright irritating.

First we had the whole congressman situation unceremoniously dropped in our laps in Captain America: Brave New World. It didn’t make a lick of sense, but it was so out of the blue and so far-fetched for the MCU’s iteration of James Buchanan Barnes (Sebastian Stan) that it was hard not to laugh. Brave New World was already chock-full of distractions pulling from Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson with the film being a stealth Red Hulk movie and all, so it was pretty easy to write the moment off and hope Thunderbolts would offer some meaningful context.

No such context came, though, and Bucky’s MCU narrative only got worse.

Even worse, it became immediately evident that Bucky either had no interest in being a congressman or absolutely no knowledge of what it would entail. He wants to impeach Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) but isn’t even reading the packets?! To the point where it needs to be a scene?!

Listen. You do not become a United States congressman by accident. It is something that you have to actively choose. And, when you’re a former mind-controlled assassin whose history is so complex it broke the first iteration of the Avengers nearly beyond repair, you have to campaign like hell to convince people you’re not going to literally (or figuratively) blow more stuff up. America might have a history of electing some real pieces of work both in reality and fiction, but the kind of detachment from reality that benefits the Wilson Fisks of the world in voting scenarios doesn’t transfer to actually decent people so far as history and voters are concerned. In short: Bucky very likely had to fight for something he didn’t even want and, worst of all, made no dang sense for his character. But don’t worry, it gets worse.

Smash cut to the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts, where it’s revealed that not only did Bucky go along with Yelena (Florence Pugh) and the rest of the team when it came to letting Valentina get away with everything, but he was destroying his relationship with Sam over it.

Let’s start with the Valentina of it all. Bucky has a whole conversation with Val’s assistant Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan) in the first act of the film where he tells her that he didn’t have a choice who he worked for when he was Winter Soldier, but Mel does when it comes to working with Valentina. Mere days later, Bucky and the team are working for the enemy.

The film tries to skirt this with perhaps the least meaningful resolution to a Marvel movie yet with Yelena’s little “we own you now” whisper during Valentina’s press conference revealing the New Avengers, but the thinly veiled threat means absolutely nothing. Valentina got away with murder, and all of the Thunderbolts are now complicit.

Here’s the thing about the Thunderbolts, though. For the rest of the team, working with the evil overlord because of your own hubris makes sense. John Walker (Wyatt Russell)? Absolutely belongs on a team with Valentina. The guy hasn’t known right from wrong since the second he dosed up on super soldier serum and now has a misguided chance to absolve himself. Ghost (Hannah John Kamen)? Bless you girlie, I want nothing but wonderful things for you but the trajectory tracks. Red Guardian (David Harbour)? Yeah! Obviously. He wants to be with his daughter and he wants fame and fortune. Yelena? She’s still too green to see past her own ego and believes that she has the upper hand for once.

But Bucky? No. Bucky Barnes being willing to be tied to a woman who he knows murdered a bunch of people to get a super soldier serum on steroids is profoundly against character. Bucky’s past is marred with sins, but he didn’t make any of those choices. We were all able to collectively absolve Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) for the people he killed while under Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) control, but all it takes is one weepy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) for everyone to forget that Bucky Barnes was kidnapped, tortured, and used against his will for decades.

All of the above would be ridiculous on its own, but the Sam Wilson situation is where it shifts from absurd to inexcusable. At the beginning of Thunderbolts’ second post-credits scene, a forlorn Bucky sits on a couch in the tacky redesign of Avengers tower, lamenting to his new team that not only would Sam not be giving up the name “Avengers” but that he would be suing them for the rights.

Back in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky delivers the most poignant line of his MCU tenure in “because if he was wrong about you then he was wrong about me!” It’s an emotional exchange between him and Sam, where Bucky’s frustration over the future Captain America’s reticence to take on the shield and all that it means finally comes to a head. Sam must be Captain America because Steve Rogers chose him to be, and if Steve made the wrong choice then maybe that means that his faith in his best friend was unfounded. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is marred with issues, but developing Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes’ relationship is the best aspect of the series by a mile.

Steve Rogers’ two best friends eventually become all that each other has as they fight through their respective struggles and gradually become best friends themselves. The MCU further solidifies this point by having Bucky appear right when Sam needed him the most in Brave New World. To then have Bucky completely betray Sam to side with a smarmy war criminal who made it her mission to create a would-be god? And to cram it all in a throwaway post-credits scene? Infuriating.

I don't know what the MCU is doing with Bucky right now, but boy do I hope they course correct before we have another Civil War on our hands.

When it launched in 2020, the Backbone One made a big splash in the mobile gaming scene. It offered a near-perfect way to experience mobile games, thanks to its compact, portable design, direct connection, and an excellent companion app that tied everything together. Since then, the mobile gaming landscape has evolved significantly – game streaming is more reliable, smartphones are more powerful, and recent games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage can now be played natively, with no console required.

Backbone’s latest release, the aptly named Backbone Pro, upgrades the original with customizable back buttons, full-size analog sticks, and Bluetooth connectivity. While it's not designed to replace the Backbone One, the Pro is a premium phone controller for players who want to game across multiple screens or are looking for a higher-end mobile gaming experience.

Backbone Pro – Design and Features

The Backbone Pro retains much of the design language from the Backbone One – from the distinctive trapezoidal shape to the button layout and extendable central area – but introduces several upgrades that deliver a more premium gaming experience. The first thing you’ll notice is the larger grips. While they nearly double the height of the Backbone Pro when compared to the original, they significantly improve comfort and ergonomics, especially during longer play sessions. A subtle micro-texture on the grips enhances the feel and helps prevent slippage, making the controller both functional and pleasant to hold.

But, there's a more important reason for the larger grips beyond improved ergonomics; the Backbone Pro now supports Bluetooth, allowing it to connect to a wide range of devices beyond just smartphones. This upgrade requires more sophisticated internals and dual built-in rechargeable batteries, which deliver up to 40 hours of playtime. The batteries add some heft without making the device feel heavy, instead creating a pleasant balance that feels great in hand.

The Backbone Pro supports two distinct modes: Handheld Mode, which uses a direct USB-C connection for near-zero latency gaming when your phone is docked, and Wireless Mode, which enables Bluetooth connectivity with devices like tablets (including iPads), laptops (PC and Mac), VR headsets (such as Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro), and even select smart TVs with cloud gaming support.

A new feature called FlowState delivers a seamless connectivity experience reminiscent of AirPods, letting you switch between devices with a single tap. By allowing simultaneous connections to multiple devices, it eliminates the usual Bluetooth re-pairing hassle when jumping between screens. Like AirPods, the Backbone Pro also receives firmware updates automatically in the background, keeping the device current without interrupting gameplay.

As with many “Pro” devices today, the Backbone Pro includes two customizable rear buttons to enhance your gameplay. Positioned comfortably on the inner grips where your fingers naturally rest, they’re easy to reach without straining. While Backbone intentionally designed them to avoid accidental presses, I still experienced a few unintended activations while testing. That being said, they’re both comfortable to use and simple to assign, adding a layer of flexibility for players who want deeper control.

Another major upgrade in the Backbone Pro is the inclusion of full-size thumbsticks. Their larger size delivers a more console-like feel, with a concave shape and textured edges that enhance grip and precision. While they don’t use Hall effect sensors, which may disappoint some users, they’re still snappy, responsive, and satisfying to use.

The rear triggers have been upgraded with Hall effect sensors for greater accuracy and reliability. They offer buttery smooth actuation and feature a laser-etched texture that helps keep your fingers securely in place.

The face buttons and D-pad have also received a subtle upgrade, now featuring a premium translucent finish. They feel more responsive than before and are noticeably quieter to press. Rounding out the hardware, the Backbone Pro includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Bluetooth pairing button on the bottom left grip.

While the previous Backbone One featured a passthrough charging port, the Pro expands on this feature with the introduction of Parallel Charging. This allows the device to intelligently top off its internal battery while your phone charges through the USB-C passthrough. The result is less hassle with charging and more time jumping into games, no matter what screen you're using.

Microsoft’s multiplatform strategy is clearly paying off when it comes to launching on PlayStation 5 as well as Xbox Series X and S and PC.

Confirmation comes from Sony itself, via a PlayStation blog post that revealed the top-selling PlayStation Store games for April 2025.

In the U.S. and Canada, the top three spots on PS5's non free-to-play download chart were all taken by Microsoft games: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, and Forza Horizon 5.

It was a similar situation in Europe, with Forza Horizon 5 on top, followed by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, then Minecraft.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which Microsoft backed by signing a deal for a day-one Game Pass launch as well as an appearance in Xbox showcase broadcasts, also appeared high up on both charts.

And let’s not forget Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, from Microsoft-owned Activision, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, from Microsoft-owned Bethesda, both of which appear in the charts.

What does this tell us? That good games, whether they come from Microsoft or otherwise, top the sales charts. That’s perhaps no surprise. It’s also no surprise to see these games do well on PlayStation. The PS5 was screaming out for a game like Playground’s wonderful racer, Forza Horizon 5, so its April launch on the console was hotly anticipated. Then there’s The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, which is scratching that Bethesda itch across PC and console, and the eternally popular Minecraft, even more popular now with the Minecraft movie going viral and breaking records.

This is now the new normal for Microsoft, which just announced Gears of War: Reloaded for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation coming in August. It seems inevitable that Halo, what was once the flagship Xbox exclusive, will also make the jump.

Last year, Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer said there were no “red lines” in its first-party lineup when it comes to going multiplatform — and that included Halo. Speaking to Bloomberg, Spencer said every Xbox game is up for grabs when it comes to making the multiplatform jump. “I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not,’ ” he said.

Spencer has said Xbox’s multiplatform push is in part about bringing in more money to Microsoft’s gaming business — with the pressure on to deliver following its eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

“We run a business,” Spencer said in August. “It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing and what we’re able to go do.

“So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It’s just going to be a strategy that works for us.”

As former Xbox executive Peter Moore told IGN last year, bringing Halo to PlayStation will have been a topic of discussion at Microsoft for some time.

“Look, if Microsoft says, wait, we're doing $250 million on our own platforms, but if we then took Halo as, let's call it a third-party, we could do a billion… You got to think long and hard about that, right?” Moore said.

“I mean, you just got to go, yeah, should it be kept? It's a piece of intellectual property. It's bigger than just a game. And how do you leverage that? Those are the conversations that always happen with, how do you leverage it in everything that we would do?

“It's had its ups and downs, but look, Xbox wouldn't be what Xbox is without Halo. But yeah, I'm sure those conversations are happening. Whether they come to fruition, who knows? But they're definitely happening, I'm sure.”

Microsoft does face a potential backlash from hardcore Xbox fans who are already disgruntled after what they feel is a devaluing of the Xbox as a console, the lack of exclusives, and Microsoft’s marketing strategy for its gaming business. Losing Halo to PlayStation could spark yet another angry response, but Moore told IGN that won’t deter Microsoft from doing what’s right for its business.

“The question would be, ultimately, is that reaction enough not to make a fundamental business decision for the future of not only Microsoft’s business, but gaming in itself?” Moore said. “Those hardcore are getting smaller in size and older in age. You've got to cater to the generations that are coming through, because they're going to drive the business over the next 10, 20 years.”

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.

Put simply, there’s nothing on PlayStation 5 quite like Forza Horizon 5.

The Crew Motorfest? Close. Leaning hard into the philosophy of ‘if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’, its fully fledged festival approach certainly makes Motorfest more like the Forza Horizon series than either of its predecessors.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown? Sadly, no. The Forza Horizon series itself may owe a significant debt to the trendsetting MMO racing of the original Test Drive Unlimited, but Solar Crown went on to fly too close to the sun in this department. An always-online racer with no dedicated solo component? The Horizon series has allowed players to seamlessly slip between offline and online play since 2014’s Forza Horizon 2!

Need for Speed Unbound? Well, there are definitely several areas of Need for Speed’s impressive customisation suite that handily eclipse Horizon, but Unbound’s arcade focus on high speed hot pursuits means it’s not really a like-for-like comparison.

No, the pound-for-pound champ of modern open world racing is Forza Horizon 5 – and now it’s available on PlayStation 5 for the very first time. Its broad and beautiful Mexico map. Its delectably drift-friendly vehicle dynamics. Its mammoth, 900-odd car garage that goes way beyond just featuring the essentials, and is brimming with cult favourite cars that simply aren’t available in any other racing game. The whole box and dice. PlayStation users are being immersed in all of this, many for the very first time.

The reaction has been fun to watch.

This influx of brand new players has been something the team has been particularly looking forward to.

“Yeah, I’m super excited,” confirms Playground Games art director Don Arceta. “Like, brand new people; for many, this will probably be the first Forza Horizon game that they’ve ever played. So it’s super exciting just to think about that, and think about what our first Horizon experiences were.”

Arceta is especially keen to see what kinds of places and races PlayStation 5 players begin creating with Forza Horizon 5’s huge set of customisation tools – the Event Lab.

“We have over 800 props now in the Event Lab, and just seeing what the community’s done with that feature and mode – and the creativity of the community – it’s just mind blowing,” he continues. “I’m super excited, once we get into the PlayStation 5 users, about what they'll build, and the creativity that will come from that community.”

“You’ll actually get some pretty good Halo content too on the PlayStation, with the event lab props!”

In pleasing news, the port itself is proving to be as technically impeccable as its Xbox and PC counterparts, which is some flex considering the sheer girth of the game – and the fact that the engine that underpins it has never been unleashed on PlayStation before.

“As you can imagine, because the series has been based around the Xbox environment and architecture, there’s a lot of code and engineering that’s worked with that,” says Arceta. “So when we brought it to the PS5, it was no small undertaking. It was quite a huge task.”

“The PlayStation 5 version was developed by Panic Button, in collaboration with Turn 10 and ourselves, but Panic Button did an amazing job. So you get that amazing, quality experience that you get on Xbox and PC – now you get on the PlayStation, and it’s just amazing work that Panic Button has done.”

Personally I’ve never been able to look past the Forza series as a whole as home to the biggest and best bag of Hot Wheels on the block. No other racing series contains more weird and wonderful cars that I want, piled on top of a cavalcade of cars I didn’t even know I wanted. As a car fan, I love the idea of a whole new cohort of players potentially discovering their favourite cars in Forza Horizon 5 – cars their other racing games just haven’t been serving them.

For Playground Games lead game designer David Orton, however, it’s the sheer breadth of Forza Horizon 5 that he’s anticipating will impress new players.

“The breadth of Horizon is quite staggering,” says Orton. “I think what we find is players go in and find what they really enjoy but, because there’s so much freedom, that can really be whatever you want it to be.”

“We always pride ourselves on giving the player that kind of agency and freedom to do whatever they want, and the game will reward them and react in that way. I’m really looking forward to players just discovering the breadth of the content. If you just want to do road racing, or if you’re really into Rivals and track racing, you can totally do that. But if you love taking incredible photos, you can totally do that. If you’re into Event Lab, and you want to create content for other people, you can totally do that. Horizon is the space where really everyone is welcome, and there’s something in it for everyone. I think the feeling of people going in and realising this is more than just a racing game is what’s really exciting for me.”

“For me, a victory would be, like, ‘I can’t believe I’ve never played this game before,’” says Arceta. “I think the surprise.”

“That, for me, is a victory, because once they’re surprised, they’re engaged – and they want to learn more. So I’m really looking for that. The delight from players; just hearing their surprise and hearing their stories.”

Here, Orton is in agreement.

“Yeah, I think it’s that,” he adds. “Players who’ve never tried Horizon before – whether that’s because it’s on a different platform, or they’ve just never had the time to do it – to actually jump into this world and realise that it’s actually a really warm, welcoming place that’s full of fun, and finding a home at Horizon.”

“Players who’ve never played before realising that, ‘Oh my goodness, how have I never played this game before? This is incredible.’ That, to me, is a win. We’re about to target a cohort of players who may have never played a Forza title before. There’s a bit of an unknown to how people react to that, but I think when you look at the history of our titles, we’re continually perfecting our craft. We feel so excited to bring this to PlayStation. I think we’re going to bring in a whole load of new players and that’s really exciting.”

If there’s any hobby that’s more tribal than car culture, it’s those who hinge their identities on their video game console of choice. For racing game fans, however, one big wall has come down.

Let’s hope it’s not the last.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

It's one thing to successfully translate a secret in-game video game language, but it's quite another to translate it before the game is even out – yet that's exactly what YouTuber 2Chrispy has (somehow) managed to do in Donkey Kong Bananza.

Just like players managed to unravel the secrets in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's secret language, 2Chrispy used trailers, preview footage, and even the Nintendo Today app to decode the Ancient Monkey Scrolls in Kong's upcoming adventure.

"In the trailer, there were a lot of hidden details," 2Chrispy explained in a wonderful video describing his process. "But the one that stuck out most to me was the banana language. Watch to see how I decoded and deciphered every monkey letter I could find."

After cleverly spotting that an in-game item had an official name, Chip Exchange, Chrispy was, through painstaking, frame-by-frame work, able to work out all but five characters in the banana alphabet — or "Bananabet," as he calls it.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has now sold an impressive 2 million copies after 12 days on sale. That’s up from the 1 million sold three days after launch.

It’s worth remembering that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was, alongside Bethesda’s Oblivion Remastered, a day-one Game Pass title. That makes this sales milestone all the more impressive for French developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive.

“We’ve watched in awe as so many of you began your journey,” reads a post on social media. “Feeling every step, every emotion, every revelation alongside you.

“To those just joining us: welcome.

“Tomorrow comes.”

When Bethesda shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered amid the launch of fellow role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, most thought there could be only one winner. However, it turned out that there was plenty of room for both games to succeed.

Indeed, according to Kepler, not only did Oblivion not harm Clair Obscur, Clair Obscur actually benefitted from Oblivion’s release because it boosted excitement for the RPG genre.

Kepler Interactive’s senior portfolio manager Matt Handrahan told The Game Business last week: “We always knew that Expedition 33 had a very specific identity. When I was in the press, I saw the Western-style RPG and the Japanese-style RPG as having quite different appeals and audiences. I knew plenty of people that would play an Elder Scrolls game that wouldn't necessarily play Final Fantasy and vice versa.

“Also, by the time that we rolled around, we had momentum of our own and we felt pretty confident that we could stand beside it. I think there were other aspects, like the price point we were at and the inclusion in Game Pass… so we knew we would have a lot of interest around the game. We were confident in that. And it went as well as it possibly could have done in our eyes. And, actually, proximity to Oblivion didn't seem to harm us at all. In many ways, I think it just drew attention to quality RPGs that week and everybody was thinking and talking about the genre.”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has done so well that French President Macron has praised the development team. Be sure to check out our tips for the important things to know before heading into the game.

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.

I think today's deals offer a solid mix of practical tech, collectible finds, and a few membership perks that are worth considering if you're looking to save on future shopping.

There’s nothing flashy for the sake of being flashy, just a handful of genuinely useful accessories, chargers that get the job done quickly, and a few standout prices on high-ticket items like the Pokémon TCG Classic Box and Ghost of Yōtei Collector’s Edition.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

Sam's Club Membership

Pokémon TCG Deals Today

There’s a solid mix of Pokémon TCG products back in stock right now, with a few standout deals worth flagging, whether you’re chasing hits, collecting promos, or just looking for decent value packs.

The Infernape V set comes with four booster packs, a foil Infernape V, a foil Empoleon, and a jumbo-sized Infernape V card. It’s a compact product with solid display value and a good pack selection. More importantly, it’s still one of the only ways to grab Sword & Shield-era boosters at retail prices, and it’s currently cheaper than the secondary market.

If you’re after something a bit more collectible, the Prismatic Evolutions Eevee ex box is a tempting option. Each one includes four booster packs, a foil promo featuring a random Eeveelution, and a storage box with built-in dividers for keeping your collection in check. If you're set on pulling a stamped Eevee ex, the promos in these boxes have sold for anywhere from $15 to nearly $60 depending on the evolution, so there’s definitely potential value here, even if you're effectively paying $15 a pack.

If you’re hunting singles instead of sealed product, scroll down for our top picks to grab right now.

Pokémon TCG Single Deals: Top Crashers of the Week

INIU Portable Power Bank

Unlock Pro 3D Modeling Skills With Blender

Samsung PRO Plus + Reader microSDXC 512GB

Fallout Nuka Cola Quantum by Jones Soda

Elebase USB to USB C Adapter 4 Pack

LISEN USB C to USB C Cable 240W

Pokémon Flareon Sleeping Plush

Ghost of Yotei Collector’s Edition PS5

Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 Merch

Doom & Wolfenstein Mayhem Game Bundle

Netflix has released a teaser trailer for Squid Game Season 3, and as well as offering a first glimpse at the culmination of the hugely popular show, has sparked a number of fan theories.

Season 3, which launches on Netflix on June 27, is the third and final season of Netflix’s most popular show. It picks up where Season 2 left off, with Gi-hun (Player 456) back in the games and still determined to dismantle them once and for all — despite the harrowing events of the previous season.

It’s time to play the final games 🔴🔵

Squid Game Season 3 premieres June 27. pic.twitter.com/5ZyZ9HVl2Z

— Netflix (@netflix) May 5, 2025

Here’s the official blurb from Netflix:

A failed rebellion, the death of a friend, and a secret betrayal. Picking up in the aftermath of Season 2’s bloody cliffhanger, the third and final season of Netflix’s most popular series finds Gi-hun, a.k.a. Player 456, at his lowest point yet. But the Squid Game stops for no one, so Gi-hun will be forced to make some important choices in the face of overwhelming despair as he and the surviving players are thrust into deadlier games that test everyone’s resolve. With each round, their choices lead to increasingly grave consequences. Meanwhile, In-ho resumes his role as Front Man to welcome the mysterious VIPs, and his brother Jun-ho continues his search for the elusive island, unaware there’s a traitor in their midst. Will Gi-hun make the right decisions, or will Front Man finally break his spirit?

So, what does this teaser trailer tell us? Fans believe that at the 46-second mark we see Player 246, the father of the sick girl in Season 2 (they’re being scanned behind the ear). If true, this would mean Player 246 survived the events of Season 2, during which it looked like they had died.

And if that’s true, perhaps that has implications for Guard 011, who worked at the same theme park as Player 246 before entering the games. Did 011 deliberately miss the kill shot on 246? What is 011’s plan, exactly?

Right at the end of the trailer we hear a baby crying. That may well be Kim Jun-hee's baby. Will Player 222 give birth during the events of Season 3? Fans fear that if so, we could be in for some real tragedy.

We also have new teaser images, below, that have similarly sparked speculation about what to expect from Season 3 in terms of the characters, their votes (if voting happens again), and the fate of their teams. One image shows Park Min-su (Player 125) wearing an O patch instead of an X patch, which suggests at some point in this upcoming season 125 ends up on a different team… again.

Is this the result of a change of heart and an associated change of vote? The teaser trailer shows the characters turning what looks like a gumball machine to find out whether they get a red or blue ball, so it may be the case that the don't have a choice which side they end up on this time around. That could have interesting implications for allies potentially now forced to be enemies.

Elsewhere, the shaman character, Seon-nyeo (Player 044), is seen with a prayer necklace that looks a lot like a key. And in one of the images we see a door shaped like a key hole. Could the two be related? Could this key unlock the door?

Squid Game Season 2 ends on a cliffhanger that sets up Season 3. Be sure to check out our Squid Game Season 2 review to find out what we think of the show.

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.

Pokémon plushies are adorable enough as they are, but the sleeping 18-inch versions like Flareon really add that premium "aw" into your collection.

This snoozing Eeveelution, currently only available at Walmart for $29.97 in the US, uniquely features the Flame Pokémon in a sideways sleeping position.

The creator of Ecco the Dolphin has revealed that not only are there remakes of the original games underway, but a "third" instalment is also in development.

Revealed via a brief post on Xbox Wire, Ed Annunziata — the original creator of the famed, and fiendishly difficult, action-adventure games — was interviewed about raising awareness about ocean conservation, his life as a developer, and, right at the end, dropped this bombshell revelation:

"Me and the entire original team are going to remaster the original Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time games. Then we will make a new, third game with contemporary play and [graphics] sensibilities. Stay tuned."

There is, of course, already a "third" game. As the last mainline Ecco instalment, Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future was released on Dreamcast 25 years ago in 2000. However, creator Annunziata wasn't involved. A further sequel, Ecco 2: Sentinels of the Universe, which had been written as a direct sequel to Defender of the Future, was cancelled.

"I just want to finally be able to enter my secret password from the end of Tides of Time. I still have it written in the codes section of the game manual," wrote one fan, while another reminded us: "I wonder how many people know how completely bonkers the plot of the games are."

Annunziata didn't provide any additional details as to when we'll get to be reunited with Ecco, but a countdown on the official Ecco the Dolphin website is set to expire in 8,508 hours' time — that's about a year from now.

Ecco the Dolphin originally launched in 1992 on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, and was followed by a sequel, Ecco: The Tides of Time, in 1994. Ecco Jr. and Ecco Jr. and the Great Ocean Treasure Hunt were released in 1995, although they were "edutainment" games and primarily developed as learning tools.

Ecco the Dolphin sees you play as the titular dolphin, as your underwater world has been devastated by a swirling gust of air and water. You must help him navigate back through treacherous tropical reefs and freezing polar ice floes to reunite him with his dolphin pod. We thought the 2000 remake was okay, writing: "Ecco the Dolphin is a classic from SEGA. But sometimes classics should stay in the past.

"For those who have played Ecco before, there's really no reason to come back to it," we wrote of the 2007 remake in IGN's Ecco the Dolphin review. "There are no extras offered and the Achievements are junk. If you've never played Ecco, then you may want to give it a go. It really is one of the more innovative titles of its time. But, again, that time has long passed, and Ecco's gameplay doesn't stand the test of time like Sonic's."

The last Ecco the Dolphin game fared much better, getting a 7.6 score in IGN's Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future review, saying: "If you thought Flipper had personality, wait until you get a load of Ecco the Dolphin. Experience amazing visuals and an engrossing story, and defend the ocean that is rightfully yours."

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.

Nintendo is suing accessory firm Genki for trademark infringement after it shared renders of a Nintendo Switch 2 "mockup" months before Nintendo revealed official images of its new console.

Cast your mind back a couple of months, and you may remember that Genki — the accessories manufacturer at the heart of the Switch 2 mockup furore coming out of CES 2025 in January — was reportedly visited by Nintendo’s lawyers. At the time, however, Genki told the press it did not sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Nintendo, and so had "nothing to worry about."

Genki told visitors the Switch 2 mockup, debuting three months ahead of Nintendo's formal unveiling, was allegedly based on a real Switch 2 system that Genki had seen and used as the basis for its accessories.

In court papers seen by IGN, Nintendo is now suing the company, accusing Genki of "embarking upon a strategic campaign intended to capitalize on the public interest surrounding Nintendo's next-generation console," suing for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising.

Nintendo asserted Genki "boasted its alleged early access to the unreleased console and allowed guests to hold and measure the mockups," adding that as Genki’s claims of compatibility "would be impossible to guarantee without unauthorized, illegal early access to the Nintendo Switch 2... Genki has misled and is misleading the public as to its ability to guarantee the compatibility of its products with the Nintendo Switch 2."

"In January 2025, [Genki] began advertising that it gained unauthorised access to Nintendo's upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console, which had not yet been released or even revealed publicly by Nintendo," the court papers said.

"Following its initial claims of access to a genuine Nintendo Switch 2 console, Defendant's statements were contradictory and inconsistent, with Defendant later stating that it was never in possession of a console. Nevertheless, Defendant has since maintained its representation to consumers that its accessories will be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2 upon the console's release."

The Japanese megacorp also alleged Genki of infringing its trademarks in its advertising and "in direct competition with Nintendo's and its licensee's legitimate marketing of authorized accessories."

Nintendo also took umbrage with a tweet from Genki on January 20, which showed CEO Edward Tsai with a finger to his lips and the caption: "Genki ninjas infiltrate Nintendo Kyoto HQ" and a pop-up on the Genki website that read: "Can you keep a secret? We can’t..."

In recompense, Nintendo seeks to prohibit Genki from using its trademarked "Nintendo Switch" name in its marketing materials, destroy any products or marketing that references Nintendo's branding, and recover unspecified "damages it has sustained as a result of Defendant's infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising, and that said damages be trebled."

Over the weekend, Genki posted a response on social media stating: "You may have seen that Nintendo recently filed a lawsuit against us. We’re taking it seriously and working with legal counsel to respond thoughtfully.

"What we can say is this: Genki has always been an independent company focused on building innovative gaming accessories for the community we love. We’re proud of the work we’ve done, and we stand by the quality and originality of our products. While we can’t comment in detail, we’re continuing preparations to fulfill orders and showcase our newest products at PAX East this week."

The statement closed on thanking people "for the overwhelming support [it has] received so far." "We’ll share more when we can, but for now, we’re staying focused on doing what we do best: building gear for gamers," it concluded.

Nintendo Switch 2 is set to debut on June 5. Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live on April 24, with the price still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you'd expect. Meanwhile, Nintendo has issued a warning to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store, saying release date delivery is not guaranteed due to very high demand.

Check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more.

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.

As if impressive Steam concurrent player numbers and Bethesda’s own announcement of 4 million players wasn’t enough to cement it as a hit, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is now the third best-selling game of 2025 in the U.S. after just one week on sale.

Oblivion Remastered, which shadow-dropped on April 22, has a peak concurrent player count of 216,784 on Steam. While impressive, that figure doesn’t tell the whole story, given Oblivion Remastered also launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, as well as straight into Game Pass.

Now we have a new milestone: after just one week on sale, Oblivion Remastered became the third best-selling game in the U.S. of 2025 so far by dollar sales. That’s according to Circana’s Mat Piscatella, who took to social media to say Oblivion Remastered trails only Monster Hunter: Wilds and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows at the top of the 2025 sales chart.

It's worth pointing out that Circana’s sales charts do not include players via subscription services. So, we know that Oblivion Remastered is a sales hit despite also being available on Microsoft's Game Pass.

With this success, it seems inevitable that more remasters of Bethesda games will follow, with most suggesting either Fallout 3 (it was leaked back in 2023) or Fallout: New Vegas are next.

If either game is indeed next, what should players expect? Bruce Nesmith, one of Fallout 3’s designers, has pointed to Fallout 3’s “not good” gun combat, which he expects Bethesda would improve significantly for a remaster.

Speaking to VideoGamer, Nesmith said Fallout 3 Remastered would have shooting more in-line with that of Fallout 4. “What did you see in Fallout 4? That will tell you what they felt was necessary to change from Fallout 3,” Nesmith said.

“I know in Fallout 4 there was a lot of work done on the gun combat, because Fallout 3 is the first time they ever tried to do a shooter-style game. And, well, I think the work that was done was amazing.”

Oblivion Remastered, developed by remake specialist Virtuos using Unreal Engine 5, has a long list of visual and feature improvements. It runs at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, as you'd expect, but other changes are more meaningful. Everything from the leveling systems to character creation, and combat animations to in-game menus have been improved. Meanwhile, there's lots of new dialogue, a proper third-person view, and new lip sync technology. The changes are going down well with fans, some of whom believe Oblivion Remastered would be more accurately described as a remake. Bethesda, however, has explained why it went down the remaster route.

Nesmith said Fallout 3 Remastered would probably include improvements and changes along similar lines to Oblivion Remastered.

“[Fallout 3 combat] didn’t hold up to shooters at the time,” he said. “Also, it’s an RPG shooter, it’s not a run-and-gun shooter. But a lot of work was done on that for Fallout 4. So I anticipate seeing a lot of that work go into it, assuming they’re doing the same thing.”

“Oblivion wasn’t just brought up to the 2011 version of Skyrim,” he added. “It was brought up to something that, at least on the surface, looks like it exceeds the most recent graphics update in Skyrim.” Nesmith has said The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is so impressive it could be called “Oblivion 2.0.”

It’s a busy time for Bethesda, which is working on The Elder Scrolls VI and, maybe, more Starfield. Throw in remasters and ongoing work on Fallout 76 and the Fallout TV show, which is heading to New Vegas for Season 2, and fans are in for a treat in the coming years.

Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered players are warning newcomers to do Kvatch before the level scaling makes it an absolute nightmare. We’ve also got a report on a player who managed to escape the confines of Cyrodiil to explore Valenwood, Skyrim, and even Hammerfell, the rumored setting of The Elder Scrolls VI.

And be sure to check out our comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, every PC Cheat Code, and much more.

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.

Amazon is offering a 50% discount off the popular Beats Solo 4 wireless on-ear headphones just in time for Mother's Day, which lands on May 11, Currently all four of the classic colorways - Black & Gold, Cloud Pink, Matte Black, and Slate Blue - are on sale for just $99.99 with free shipping (normally $200). If you're looking for a more unique coloway for mom, Target is also offering 50% off its exclusive Warm White model as well.

50% Off Beats Solo 4 Wireless Headphones

Target's exclusive "Warm White" colorway is also on sale

The weather’s cooling down, but these digital deals are heating up across every major platform. Whether you’re nursing a post-payday itch or plotting your next backlog binge, there’s a stack of pixel-packed gems going for a song this week. From cult classics and long-awaited sequels to a few industry oddities, there’s something here to make you equip your wallet.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating the 10th anniversary of Project C.A.R.S., a series which, sadly, seems to have put the hazards on and parked. It began here as a serious, deep, and demanding racing sim for motorsport purists. It bore no pop punk soundtrack, or explosive takedowns, or generous rewinds. Slightly Mad Studios just set out to capture the experience of manhandling a real racing car around the world’s most famous racing circuits, and mostly succeeded.

Aussie bdays for notable games

- EVE Online (PC) 2003. Get

- Project CARS (PC,PS4,XO) 2015. Get

Contents

• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• PC Gear
• LEGO
• Headphones
• TVs

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

Nintendo fans can dive into Persona 5 Royal, the definitive version of Atlus’ stylish life-sim-meets-dungeon-crawler. Fun fact: the original localisation team used colour-coded fonts to match each character's personality. Or for retro thrills, the Turok Trilogy resurrects the cult dinosaur shooter series with a hero who actually started in comics way back in 1954 (!!!).

• Persona 5 Royal (-34%) - A$59
• Turok Trilogy (-75%) - A$22
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Rem. (-33%) - A$39
• Sonic Forces (-31%) - A$41
• Panzer Dragoon: Remake (-90%) - A$3

Expiring Recent Deals

• Sonic X Shadow Generations (-35%) - A$49
• Switch Lite Console - Blue (-10%) - A$298
• MGS: Master Col. (-42%) - A$52
• Expeditions: A MudRunner (-42%) - A$49
• NBA 2K25 (-74%) - A$23

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Exciting Bargains for Xbox

• Star Wars Outlaws (-64%) - A$40
• Doom: The Dark Ages (-17%) - A$99
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves - Special Ed. (-13%) - A$79
• Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (-67%) - A$32
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (-30%) - A$80

Xbox One

• Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (-50%) - A$39
• Diablo III: Eternal Col. (-67%) - A$32
• Octopath Traveler II (-50%) - A$42

Expiring Recent Deals

• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Del. Ed. (-70%) - A$44
• No More Heroes 3 (-41%) - A$44
• Star Wars: Dark Forces Rem. (-45%) - A$24
• Little Nightmares I & II Bndl (-70%) - A$22
• Scarlet Nexus Del. Ed. (-85%) - A$17
• Diablo III: Eternal Col. (-67%) - A$32
• Hot Wheels Unleashed (-85%) - A$8
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (-85%) - A$10

Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

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Pure Scores for PlayStation

• Ghost of Yōtei (-21%) - A$99
• Star Wars Outlaws (-64%) - A$40
• Sonic Frontiers (-51%) - A$49
• The Yakuza Rem. Col. (-35%) - A$35
• Doom: The Dark Ages (-17%) - A$99

PS4

• Batman: Return to Arkham (-51%) - A$34
• Slay the Spire (-66%) - A$12
• Alien: Isolation (-80%) - A$9

Expiring Recent Deals

• Cyberpunk 2077: Ult. Ed. (-35%) - A$69
• PowerWash Simulator (-30%) - A$21
• Disco Elysium Final Cut (-70%) - A$17
• Monster Hunter Rise (-75%) - A$14
• Control: Ult. Ed. (-80%) - A$10
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (-75%) - A$13
• It Takes Two (-65%) - A$20
• Mortal Kombat 11 (-90%) - A$6

PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from Apr 1 with this subscription

• RoboCop: Rogue City | PS5
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | PS4/5
• Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth HM | PS4

Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Purchase Cheap for PC

• NBA 2K25 (-75%) - A$29
• Lego Star Wars Comp. (-100%) - FREE w/ Prime
• Styx: Master of Shadows (-100%) - FREE w/ Prime
• Dark Souls III (-50%) - A$42
• M.E. Shadow of Mordor GOTY (-84%) - A$4
• M.E.: Shadow of War Def. (-88%) - A$7
• Disco Elysium - The Final Cut (-75%) - A$14
• Octopath Traveler (-60%) - A$35

Expiring Recent Deals

• Doom: The Dark Ages (-17%) - A$99
• Need for Speed Unbound Ult. (-80%) - A$25
• Star Wars Jedi Bndl (-82%) - A$23
• Gris (-80%) - A$4
• Dark Souls: Rem. (-50%) - A$28
• Tales of Vesperia: Def. Ed. (-80%) - A$11

Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

Laptop Deals

• Apple 2024 MacBook Air 15-inch (-16%) – A$2,094
• Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 (-36%) - A$879
• Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen7 (-27%) - A$1,018

Desktop Deals

• HP OMEN 35L Gaming (-10%) – A$2,799
• Lenovo ThinkCentre neo Ultra (-25%) - A$2,249
• Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q (-35%) – A$629

Monitor Deals

• LG 24MR400-B, 24" (-30%) - A$97
• Z-Edge 27" 240Hz (-15%) - A$279
• Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo Curved (-22%) – A$2,499

Component Deals

• MSI PRO B650M-A WiFi Motherboard (-41%) – A$229
• AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (-7%) – A$876
• Corsair Vengeance 32GB (-35%) – A$82
• Kingston FURY Beast 16GB (-30%) – A$48

Storage Deals

• Seagate One Touch Portable HDD (-24%) – A$228
• Kingston 1TB USB 3.2 SSD (-17%) – A$115
• SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO (-63%) – A$29
• SanDisk 32GB Ultra SDHC (-53%) – A$9.90

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Legit LEGO Deals

• Despicable Me (-42%) - A$35
• Deep-Sea Research Sub (-33%) - A$39
• Go-Karts and Race Drivers (-33%) - A$10
• Star Wars C-3PO (-32%) - A$155

Expiring Recent Deals

• Jedi Bob’s Starfighter (-37%) - A$38
• Mando and Grogu’s N-1 Starfighter (-36%) - A$32
• Captain America: Civil War (-34%) - A$99
• TIE Fighter & X-Wing (-29%) - A$127

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Hot Headphones Deals

Audiophilia for less

• Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro (-49%) – A$179
• Sony WH-CH520 Wireless (-27%) - A$73
• SoundPEATS Space (-25%) - A$56.99
• Technics Premium (-36%) - A$349

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Terrific TV Deals

Do right by your console, upgrade your telly

• Kogan 65" QLED 4K (-50%) – A$699
• Kogan 55" QLED 4K (-45%) – A$549
• LG 55" UT80 4K (-28%) – A$866

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Spoilers follow for Thunderbolts.

Some MCU fans had assumed that Marvel’s Thunderbolts – which you may have heard is now Marvel’s The New Avengers – would kill off at least a few of its (seemingly) mostly disposable team of anti-heroes. But when the “directors chair” Avengers: Doomsday announcement in March revealed the metric ton of characters who are returning for that film included most of the Thunderbolts, the fan theories were forced to go in another direction. Still, one character was conspicuous by their absence in that reveal: Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov, aka Taskmaster.

Here's a rare chance to pick up a well-sized OLED TV at an affordable price and from a trusted retailer. Starting this week, Amazon has discounted the 2024 65" Panasonic Z85 4K OLED Smart TV with Amazon Fire TV for just $999.99 with free delivery. This is an excellent TV to pair up with your PlayStation 5 since it has HDMI 2.1 inputs and a 120Hz refresh rate.

65" Panasonic Z85 4K OLED Fire TV for $999.99

Ahead of Mother's Day, which lands on May 11, Amazon has dropped the price of the Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro) to $399 shipped. That's a $100 price drop for the newest Mini. If you're looking for a pocketable, the iPad Mini will be your best pick; because of its compact size, there's no better iPad to take along when you're travelling.

2024 Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro)

HP is offering the lowest price we've seen for an RTX 5080 equipped gaming laptop with its new 2025 Omen Max 16. Right now you can pick up a pretty decked out model for just $2,609.99 shipped after you apply coupon code "PC10DEAL". This is the only RTX 5080 laptop I've found so far for under $3,000. The Omen Max is HP's new gaming laptop that replaces the now discontinued HP Omen 16. It is upgraded with a beefier cooling system to accommodate more powerful hardware.

HP Omen Max 16" RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop for $2,610

The Nintendo Switch 2 is coming out incredibly soon, and while we know a lot about it, its steep $449.99 price tag and $79.99 games make me less likely to invest than expected. After all, I’ve barely used my Nintendo Switch since getting an Asus ROG Ally, and my problems with the original console are only exacerbated in its successor, especially in a post-handheld gaming PCs world.

Asus ROG Ally Is All I Need

I’ve been a handheld gamer since childhood, having jumped between the Game Boy, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. It's still my favorite way to play games, as there’s nothing cozier than snuggling beneath a layer of blankets and playing from the comfort of my bed. I was even among the painfully few PlayStation Vita believers, and played it during my college train commute every day.

The Nintendo Switch blew my mind in 2017, yet even though I bought mine close to launch, I only used it for exclusives. Playing on PC isn’t comfortable, so when a game seemed mechanically or graphically suited for handheld, I wanted it on the Switch. Those games entered a mental drawer in my head labeled “Reserved for handheld,” and it’s as if my brain was incapable of letting me play them elsewhere.

But if that game was available for free on Epic Games Store, Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, or Humble Choice, I felt guilty repurchasing it on Nintendo Switch. It didn’t help that Switch games are notoriously less likely to receive discounts, and when they do, they’re nowhere near as steep as on other storefronts. This painful cycle of “Why waste money on a game I already own” into “I want to play this on a handheld” yielded the same result every time: I wouldn’t play the game at all.

The launch of the Asus ROG Ally in 2023 broke my curse. It’s a handheld gaming PC that runs on Windows 11, so it has access to Steam, Game Pass, Epic Games, and more. Those games I’d never play on PC due to discomfort could now be enjoyed from the comfort of my own bed.

Nowadays, I play a treasure trove of indie games on my Ally, and I’m still catching up on my backlog. If it wasn’t for the Ally, I would’ve never played Celeste, Little Nightmares II, or Resident Evil Remake. Those are now amongst my favorite games ever, and I didn’t need to spend additional money on any of them, whereas I would have had to repurchase them on Switch. The Ally has become my go-to handheld of choice and has saved me tons of money.

Regardless, I was still excited for the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement, as Nintendo games hold a special place in my heart. But after the Switch 2 Direct, I’m uncertain where the console fits in my life anymore.

When the original Switch launched, it held significance beyond exclusives. The versatility of its design and lower price of entry compared to the competition made it an excellent ecosystem to get into. It was the only viable handheld at the time: It was cheap, had great exclusives, and nothing else like it existed.

The Switch 2 Isn’t Alone Anymore

Priced at $449 (to start), the Nintendo Switch 2 finds itself in competitive waters. That launch price brings it close to the $499 PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. In fact, the PS5 technically launched cheaper with its $399 digital edition. What’s worse, in the last eight years since the Switch’s launch, its design has inspired competition. Steam Deck started the trend in 2022, but manufacturers have released handheld gaming PCs like the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw. There are even rumors that Xbox is working on its own handheld. Switch 2 is no longer one-of-a-kind, and it’s only a great investment if you don’t already own another handheld, and I do.

Handheld gaming PCs have powerful hardware, and are more than capable of playing indies and third-party games. With a far larger library, and the ability to access all of the games you already own, it’s an excellent place for everything. The chipsets powering handheld gaming PCs are only getting better with time, too. The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme is waiting to be implemented into something powerful, and it won’t take long before Switch 2 finds itself outmatched by the competition.

Handheld gaming PC owners who want to play new Nintendo exclusives are faced with a steep price of entry and the promise of little use. If a machine like the Asus ROG Ally is more than capable of playing everything from third-parties to indies, then handheld gaming PC owners investing in a Switch 2 are only going to use it for first-party games.

The high price of exclusives makes the Switch 2 an even more painful endeavor, with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza launching at $79.99 and $69.99 respectively. Considering Nintendo Switch games, especially first-party games, are rarely discounted, it’s hard to get excited about the prospect of having to buy them.

To be fair, there is plenty of value to be found in Nintendo exclusives. The company is responsible for some of the greatest games in history, and for many, there will be plenty of Switch 2 games over the next few years to make the system worth its high price. But for handheld gaming PC owners like me, we just need a little more.

The Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t a worthwhile investment for everyone, especially if you already have a handheld gaming PC. Systems like the Legion Go deliver excellent performance, and an enormous library of indie and third-party games. My Asus ROG Ally does everything I used to need a Switch for, and with a wide range of storefronts available, it’s just a better place to play games.

Claire finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and seven years of experience in entertainment journalism. Claire is a stalwart defender of games as an artform and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for its past, present and future. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and gushing about handheld gaming PCs.

A great laptop allows you to take high-quality computing on the go. That's an appealing prospect no matter what kind of user you are, but there's a breathtaking amount of options to choose from. For many of us, a versatile all-arounder like my top pick, the MacBook Air, is going to be all you need. Or, if you're a student that's interested in blending portability with performance and a dash of entertainment on the side, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, may be a better pick. I review laptops for a living, so whether you're looking for something to enhance your workday, carry to classes, or something to play the latest games at high settings, I'm here to help you cut through the noise and find the right pick for you. These are the best laptops of 2025.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Laptops We've Tested:

Laptops come in many different forms and have designs that cater to a wide range of needs. The best seamlessly integrate into your day without constantly reminding you that you're carrying them. They offer great battery life and performance that won't leave you disappointed after making such a large investment.

No matter what you're looking for, I've done the testing to make sure you get the best value, and best performance, for your money.

1. Apple MacBook Air (M4, Early 2025)

The Best Laptop

Apple's MacBook may just be the most ubiquitous laptop of all time, and year after year, it earns top marks for performance, portability, and battery life. This year, the company released its latest iteration on the ultra-portable MacBook Air, featuring its latest and most powerful processor, the M4. This new chip powers the experience, allowing users to do everything from crank out projects for work or school to creative work, and it does these things faster, using less battery than competing Windows laptops around its price.

All of the most appealing qualities of the MacBook Air line make their return here. We once again see Apple challenge convention by offering reliably great performance and battery life in such a thin and light body. Apple even managed to shave a smidge of weight off of this year's release even while improving its capability. It only weighs 2.7lbs, too, making it almost effortless to carry.

As we've come to expect from Apple, the Air is all about evolutional refinement. In her review, our own Jackie Thomas dubbed it an "oldie but a goodie" in the most loving way possible. It has the same fanless internal design that relies entirely on passive cooling (in part through its metal frame). This allows it to run completely silently while also adopting a clean aesthetic, unbroken by fan vents.

This does mean that it won't compete with the MacBook Pro in the kind of performance it's able to put out, which does have active cooling, but you wouldn't expect it to. The MacBook Air is about being a daily companion and all the computer that you'll need this side of being a creative professional or gamer.

That doesn't mean it's a slouch in the performance department. The prior M3 MacBook Air, released in March of last year, already offered impressive performance in benchmarks and real world use, and the M4 chip is a step ahead by roughly 20%. Groundbreaking? No, but it does mean that the MacBook Air can handle just about anything you might throw at it on an average day.

Like many of its other qualities, the display is very similar to its predecessor, but that's not a bad thing. While I would have loved to see an upgrade, it's 13- or 15-inch screen offers a 2560x1664 resolution which translates to high pixel density and a crisp, color-rich image – another point Jackie loved.

On the flip side of things, it offers limited connectivity. Sad as it is to say, it's one of the things you just have to accept with the MacBook Air series, at least so far. (It's never too late to change, Apple!) It offers two USB Type-C ports on the left, a MagSafe connector, and a headphone jack on the opposite side. If you have lots of accessories to connect, you'll need to invest in a dock.

The MacBook Air so nails the basics of being silent, satisfying, and delightfully responsive, that it truly begins to feel like a natural part of your daily life. It's no good for gaming, sure, but as a daily driver, it's the best choice for most people.

2. Asus VivoBook S 15

Best Budget Laptop

3. Razer Blade 16 (2025)

Best Gaming Laptop

4. Asus ZenBook S 16

Best Laptop for Work

5. Microsoft Surface Pro 11

Best Laptop for School

How to Choose the Best Laptop in 2025

Shopping for a new laptop can be a complicated affair if you don't know what you're looking for. Thankfully, there are key specs that can clue you in to whether or not a laptop is prepared to meet your needs. This is what to look for when choosing one of the best laptops in 2025.

• Display: Your laptop's display is one of its most important qualities. These come in multiple different forms. The average laptop comes with an IPS display, which essentially means that it has a backlight around the edges of the screen. It's also possible to find laptops with OLED or mini-LED displays, which offer improved visuals at the expense of a higher price. If all you need a laptop for is getting work done, it probably doesn't make sense to pay extra for the latest and greatest screen technology. But if you plan to use your laptop for gaming or entertainment, an OLED can offer a massive upgrade to your viewing experience.
  • The other thing to consider here is the resolution and refresh rate of this screen. For most laptops, 1,080p, or Full HD, is going to be sufficient, especially for school or work. Higher resolution screens offer crisper visuals but tend to cost more and are more difficult to run for gaming.
  • Refresh rate, on the other hand, is how many times the screen flashes in a second. Most productivity laptops refresh at 60Hz, or 60 times per second. It's not uncommon to find laptops that offer higher refresh rates, however, up to 120Hz, 144Hz, or even higher at an increased cost. While higher refresh rates offer the most benefit in games by enhancing the perceived smoothness of motion, they can also enhance productivity and web browsing by making fast motions such as scrolling feel more fluid.
  • Higher-end displays, such as OLEDs, frequently offer high refresh rates to bring the viewing experience full circle. Whether or not it's worth paying extra for depends on how you'll be using your laptop, but for productivity, 60Hz is most common and typically fine.
• Platform/OS: A computer's operating system, or platform, is the interface you'll interact with every day when using it. The two key choices in this space are Windows or Mac. Mac is only available on Apple systems, like the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
• Processor: Think of the processor like the brain of your computer. It handles all of the computations that allow you to complete everything from day-to-day tasks to intense gaming. The two big brands of processors today are Intel and AMD, with Snapdragon recently entering as a third option. In general, for Intel and AMD, I recommend choosing a processor a bare minimum of six cores with eight or more recommended. This will help to ensure snappy performance and easy compatibility with applications well into the future. A six core processor can still be good, though is likely to need to be upgraded sooner and will be more limited for intense applications and multitasking.
• Memory: Memory, or RAM, allows your computer to hold more things in its most rapidly accessed storage at a time. Choose a laptop with at least 16GB for school and productivity, and 32GB for gaming or more intense tasks like video editing or streaming.
• Storage: Storage represents your laptop's capacity for maintaining files locally, for maintaining files locally, and is usually measured in gigabytes (GB) and terabytes (TB). The smallest capacity available today tends to be 256GB, which is very small and should only be chosen if you plan on keeping most of your files in the cloud. Photos, videos, or large files can quickly take up this space. I recommend a minimum of 512GB for productivity in school and 1TB for gaming, and anyone that plans on keeping most of their files locally.
• Graphics: Laptop graphics are responsible for rendering everything you see on the screen. They come in two forms: integrated and dedicated. The first form means that the graphics processing is built into the CPU and will generally be less capable for tasks like gaming. Dedicated graphics means that there is a separate component entirely dedicated to graphics rendering. These come in different tiers denoted by numbers and could occupy an entire article of their own. Generally speaking, for productivity, an integrated GPU will be fine. For gaming, however, a dedicated graphics card will offer the best performance.
• Portability: When looking at a laptop, it's always important to consider how much it weighs. While five pounds may not seem like much on paper, if you're carrying it on your shoulder every day or hefting it in the crook of your arm, it can quickly begin to feel like more. Thin and light laptops typically weigh 3.5lbs or less and are a good fit for productivity. Gaming laptops tend to be heavier due to their higher performance components and more advanced cooling solutions. If you're on the fence, I recommend visiting a local electronics store and seeing if you can feel a few different types of laptops firsthand.

Laptop FAQ

Which laptop is best for work, school, or gaming?

While each of these questions stand on their own, they can also be addressed together when looking at which laptop is best for work or school. The things you're going to be looking for are mostly the same. You don't need to spend extra on a laptop with a dedicated GPU unless you're doing art or rendering as part of your job or curriculum. Instead, I recommend focusing on at least an 8-core processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Spend more on additional RAM and storage as your budget allows.

For gaming, things get a bit more complicated. While I would still recommend the same base specs for an entry-level gaming laptop, you'll want to consider laptops with a dedicated GPU if you want to turn graphics settings up. While it's possible to play games on laptops with an integrated graphics card, dedicated GPUs simply perform better and give you more room for better visuals and higher resolutions.

Why do laptops get slow?

This can happen for a number of different reasons. Depending on the specs of your laptop, it's possible that its hardware is no longer up to the requirements of modern Windows and applications. If that's not the case, you should look into dust buildup in the vents and fans, as heat will cause your system to throttle, lowering performance. As a rule, it's important to remember that laptops often have a lower usable lifespan than full-size desktops due to their form factor.

Should I get a laptop or a desktop?

If you're looking for a gaming computer that you can easily take with you on the go, a laptop is a no-brainer. But if you only intend to play games at home, a desktop is probably a better choice. The portability of a laptop often comes at a higher price compared to a similarly specced desktop. Additionally, laptop hardware, even if it has a very similar name – as is the case with laptop graphics cards – often does not run as fast as the desktop version of that component. In the end, the choice comes down to how much you need a portable system versus one that can remain in a single place at home and take up more space.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.