During a special IGN Live edition of Up at Noon today, McFarlane Toys’ Brian Walters (Director, Brand Creative) stopped by to chat with Max Scoville and Brian Altano about what the company has in the pipeline, including their new Elite Edition series that’s kicking off with Doom Slayer from Doom: The Dark Ages, followed by Lilith from Diablo IV.

Walters said the idea behind the Elite Edition was “to create highly decorated, super detailed, iconic version of characters from games.” One way these figures stand out is by their inclusion of soft goods, such as the fur cloak on Doom Slayer, and Walters noted they were “Introducing new materials we haven’t used.”

Walters pointed out the many accessories Doom Slayer came with, including the Pulveriser, flail, combat shotgun, and shield saw, saying he felt it was ”a really great first item for [Elite Edition].” Though pre-orders for Doom Slayer were currently sold out, Walters said the figure would be available at retailers like Walmart and Gamestop upon release. And yes, it was implied some monsters are in the works for the Doom Slayer to battle.

Lilith in the meantime just went up for pre-order today, tied to IGN Live. Her accessories include multiple palace fates for a variety of expressions, and Williams said the idea was they were “holding nothing back with this figure,” including articulated wings and “a soft PVC tail so you can pose it however you want.”

Williams said the challenge with a figure like Lilith was “the balance of executing the design but still making a functional toy. You have to make tough decisions.” He added that probably the hardest thing was pulling off “the engineering without compromising the look of the character.”

As for what else McFarlane Toys had in the pipeline, there’s the Power Armor from Fallout, which is based on the game, not the series. The previous figures they made for the TV version were from the Movie Maniacs line, so the Power Armor will be the first articulated Fallout figure. Williams teased there was “more to come here. We’ve got some good surprises coming.”

Last but not least, Williams showed off two of the figures from the upcoming Mortal Kombat Classics line - including a boxed Sub-Zero, featuring very fun retro arcade packaging that includes joystick controls on the box art and the original character select image of Sub-Zero, along with his bio, on the back.

Full Spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 follow.

At IGN Live today, The Last of Us Co-Creator and Executive Producer Craig Mazin was joined by several of the show’s core creative team – including Ksenia Sereda (Cinematographer), Ann Foley (Costume Designer), Don Macaulay (Production Designer), Alex Wang (VFX Supervisor), Timothy Good (Editor), and David Fleming (Co-Composer) – to discuss the tremendous amount of work that went into the just-completed second season of the HBO series.

As the panel began, Mazin remarked, “The truth is that Neil [Druckmann] and I are vastly over-credited for the success of the show. We work really hard on it but these are the people that bring it to life and they deserve so much credit… All of it is necessary to make it what it is.”

When the panel was asked to name their favorite episode from Season 2, nearly everyone named either episode two ("Through the Valley") or episode six (“The Price”), which made sense since they were such standouts - and segued nicely into the fact that these were the two episodes moderator Amelia Emberwing focused on for the conversation.

"Through the Valley” of course had two monumental events, including the horde of infected attacking Jackson and, well… that other thing which we’ll get back to. With footage of the massive attack sequence playing, Mazin noted that there were visual effects in basically every shot, saying, “I think Alex had to touch nearly everything here.”

Rewatching the attack on Jackson, Macaulay joked, “All I can think about is the thousands of meetings we have,” saying they quite seriously probably had 10 meetings about how the barrels would be launched from the town gates into the horde. As he put it, “Nearly every shot in this took 10-15 meetings. Craig loves meetings!” Even after all of that there was “a lot of retrofitting on set. Lots of rooftops we weren’t planning to do.”

Foley said episode two was definitely the hardest part of the season for her as the costume designer because of how many actors and extras were in that episode working on multiple filming units - and that it was all taking place while they were also working on the Seraphite costumes for upcoming episodes. As she explained, this involved "65 people in three different areas.”

Wang stressed that previs is crucial, and the many discussions they have about what Macaulay will build vs. what Wang will oversee being added digitally. It’s a long process, with Wang noting, “You’re planning for success 6-8 months down the line” and that he’s constantly in communication with Macaulay, the stunt team, and many more. Mazin joked that when he calls Wang in for one of his infamous meetings, “His heart sinks because he knows he’s about to go over budget again.”

One reason the infected horde was so tricky was that it dealt with such a large army and as Wang explained, in the visual effects world, when you have a group that large “repetition is usually okay,” since you have characters in the same costumes or creatures of the same type. Here though, Mazin wanted to sell that these were all originally different human beings who were different sizes and ages in different outfits before they were infected. As he put it, they nearly “broke Wētā [FX]” over the specifics they asked for.

Then there’s Good and his crucial work as editor. He has to begin editing without the final effects in place, which can be tricky. And not just because, as he pointed out, in the early footage “a Bloater isn’t a Bloater, it’s a green dot.” But after they may have cut of the episode they're happy with, “we get the animation back and everything’s changed. The motion’s become faster than a human actor is able to do," so they have to re-edit to adjust.

When it came to scoring the “Through the Valley,” Fleming described it as particularly challenging, because Mazin asked him, “How do we start this at 11 and then keep going up for the whole episode?” The idea was they were “building up momentum so it just felt relentless relentless relentless. Then at the end, it was kind of the opposite with the pivotal scene with Joel.” When Fleming paused and said he’d been avoiding talking about how that episode ended for so long, Mazin couldn’t resist chiming in: “He died!”

As Fleming explained, the original music for Joel's wrenching death scene was much busier but then “Craig asked ‘strip it back.’ It was a less is more situation.”

While praising the performances of Pedro Pascal, Kaitlyn Dever and Bella Ramsey, Good revealed that for Joel’s death “I actually edited it five times before I was ready to show it to Craig,” because he knew how important it was to get it right.

As Joel’s death scene played out, the panel couldn’t help but become somber and when Mazin cracked, “Let’s talk about the golf clubs we picked out. They have lots of meaning" to release some tension, he then paused and added that actually, when it came to which exact club Abby would use to beat Joel with, “There was a whole discussion!”

The conversation then moved to episode six and its flashbacks to Joel and Ellie together set between Season 1 and 2. The sequence where Ellie climbs the dinosaur was shown and Mazin remarked, “I love this in the game. I love that we got to do it!”

He added that this was a funny situation where the actual dinosaur built for Ellie to climb “was wobbling too much so then Alex stopped it from wobbling. But then it looked fake so we had to make it wobble [again] a little bit.”

Discussing Joel and Ellie’s clothes, Foley noted they did their best to match their looks in the game, though there might be slight changes occasionally for specific reasons. One such case was in the museum scene. In the game, Ellie is wearing a tank top in this sequence. However, on the show, they wanted to underline that Bella Ramsey was playing a more youthful version of Ellie in these flashback scenes, so they ended up making it a t-shirt because “changing it from a tank to a t-shirt made it look baggier and make her look younger.” In general though, “Joel and Ellie are in the same things they wear in the game because there’s no reason to change it.”

Ksenia Sereda said she was both excited and nervous about shooting the scene where Ellie and Joel go inside the space capsule, because “the way it was done in the game was so brilliant,” including the close up on Ellie smiling, imagining going into space. Sereda joked the game provided “the most expensive previs I’ve ever had to work with.”

Mazin marveled how Sereda lit the screen so that all of the light changes on Ellie’s face were done practically, without visual effects needed. Sereda explained how difficult it was, because “the whole sequence is lit through this teeny tiny window on the side of the capsule. It was very challenging to find this whole look.”

This sequence had particular significance to Mazin because “This is the first thing that Neil ever showed me from the second game.” He elaborated that when he went to Naughty Dog to speak to Druckmann about turning The Last of Us into a TV show, the team were nearing the completion of The Last of Us Part II. When Druckmann showed Mazin the space capsule sequence, his response was, “‘We’re doing that!’ In my mind, I was like, 'We need to do a good enough job for Season 1 that we’re renewed [to do that].'"

With Season 3 of The Last of Us now in the works, Mazin said he was eager to get back in the thick of it, turning to his fellow panelists and saying “I can’t wait to do that. I can’t wait to do that with all of you.” He then proclaimed: “Don, are we going to have meetings!!”

Having already out pre-orders of many packs and bundles already, the Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy cards officially will be released June 13 and Principal Designer Gavin Verhey and Executive Producer Zakeel Gordon were on hand at IGN Live today to discuss the much-anticipated collaboration.

Verhey and Gordon said that there have been other IP crossovers with Magic before, Final Fantasy was particularly exciting because, as Verhey put it, “It’s Final Fantasy! That really helps! We’ve been working on this set for about five years.”

The duo noted everyone at Wizards of the Coast were big fans of Final Fantasy, noting most had been playing the games longer than they’d played Magic and means so much to them.

Verhery said their approach was to incorporate something from all 15 games – which upped to 16 as they were working on the cards – which began with making spreadsheets of all the characters, items and story modes. They then split up the possible inclusions into three tiers - what Verhey described as the "gotta have: primary elements and most popular characters, followed by the second tier, which is where “cool side characters” came into play, while the third tier were the deep cuts, “like Guy speaking beaver. We wanted to get it all in there. Every game is represented from most iconic characters to deep cuts you can’t believe they put on a Magic card.”

There are four Commander decks, based on Final Fantasy X, XIV, VI and VII and Verhery promised “Everything besides the lands is themed to the game” and that playing the FF7 deck “ is like seeing the whole game play out before you eyes.” Added Gordon, “We chose those decks to represent different eras. We tried to really get the breadth of the entire franchise in our product.”

Gordon said inevitably they still couldn’t include every single character or game aspect they would have liked, given they didn’t have unlimited cards, noting, “The big challenge is we were going for the entire mainline series. We limited it to core games which left out a few great characters, but by design.”

Gordon explained that the Through the Ages cards, which include classic Final Fantasy artwork was an idea that came up halfway through the development process, simply because they were looking at the art – from the likes of Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura – so much already and, as Gordon put it “The art was so amazing they wanted to put it on cards.”

A couple of lucky fans at IGN Live were given decks of cards before release and when showing them off, their decks included the likes of Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth and Final Fantasy IV’s Rosa. Verhey said he felt that was an appeal of the Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy cards - taking two characters “you’d never see in [the same] game but here they are together.”

Obsidian Entertainment debuted its special The Outer Worlds 2 Direct today, revealing a planet-sized presentation full of gameplay with new details about its 2025 sequel.

The 30-minute showcase gave players a tongue-in-cheek look at how Obsidian is building on the foundation laid by its original 2019 space adventure RPG with tweaks to existing mechanics as well as completely new gameplay features. It was also all hosted by comedian and Sonic the Hedgehog movie voice actor Ben Schwartz, who helped keep The Outer Worlds 2 Direct going with plenty of skits in between the nitty-gritty details.

From wacky new Flaws and planets to a fresh perspective on player choice, we’ve collected all of the highlights from today’s The Outer Worlds 2 Direct and shared them below. Also, as announced at the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase, The Outer Worlds 2 now has a release date of October 29, 2025. You can read up on everything announced at that show here.

Exploring Space as an Earth Directorate Agent

Players are dropped into The Outer Worlds 2 as an Earth Directorate Agent. Obsidian describes these do-gooders as “space cowboys or space sky marshals” or “good guys that go in to places and fix everything that’s wrong.” How you build out your character and experience from here, though, is up to you.

Filling out your character’s story means choosing things like a Background and Traits, with the latter setting the foundation for how you approach gameplay throughout the story. You can be Brilliant, Heroic, Innovative, Lucky – or Dumb, if that’s your thing.

There are also skills, which have been refined this time around, and perks, which are heavily inspired by the system used in Fallout: New Vegas. One example of a perk shown during the Direct is Assassin, an ability that grants a movement bonus after a stealth kill.

More Guns, More Choice

The Outer Worlds 2 is about expanding the universe Obsidian created in 2019, and that means introducing vast improvements to the gameplay across the board. There are more guns with more unique animations to be found here, with many of them shown off during the Direct.

It’s all very Borderlands, as some weapons carry unique traits. Rookie’s Reward is a great example of what’s in store, as this firearm slowly levels up with the player as it's used through the game, celebrating each new level with a confetti and fireworks show. There’s also the Pop-Up Gun, which distracts enemies with pop-up ads projected by a pesky drone. Another highlight is a music-infused sword that rewards players who smack enemies to the beat of a song.

Much of this creativity was carried over into the new throwable tools. Grenades, for example, can trigger a simple explosion, or players can use science grenades that suspend foes with zero-gravity technology.

As for movement, Obsidian says it’s revamped its approach to exploration, too. That means more freedom to run, jump, slide, and parkour around Arcadia as they find valuable loot. You’ll also be able to take advantage of both first- and third-person perspectives after the option was absent from the original game.

Flaws Are Back and Better (and Worse) Than Ever

One beloved elements from the original The Outer Worlds were Flaws, a feature that gave players the option to take on negative attributes in exchange for other perks. We got to see four Flaws as part of today’s presentation: Bad Knees, Kleptomaniac, Sungazer, and Overprepared.

Bad Knees gives players, well, bad knees, allowing them to move quicker in exchange for joints that pop (and alert enemies) when leaving the crouching position. Kleptomaniac grants higher selling values for stolen items while occasionally forcing players to nick some items against their will, while Sungazer causes permanent vision damage in exchange for a daytime healing passive and increased weapon spread. Overprepared is a Flaw for the kind of player who is always cautiously reloading, granting them increased magazine sizes with a penalty if a clip ever organically runs out of ammo.

Factions and Companions

To no one’s surprise, The Outer Worlds 2 is populated by an army of key factions and individuals to help and halt your journey. The Protectorate, for example, is described as an authoritarian group in the isolated colony of Arcadia.

“Their dictatorship is thematically based around the question of how much freedom people will give up for security and luxury,” Obsidian describes. “For Protectorate subjects, unfortunately, that answer is ‘everything.’”

There’s also the Order of the Ascendant, an offshoot of the Order of Scientific Inquiry from the original Outer Worlds that also has past ties to The Protectorate. These major factions and more have been made to have close ties to the story and themes of The Outer Worlds 2, but they’ve also been made to be even more absurd as Obsidian aimed to expand the humor. Additionally, players can expect to listen to a Fallout: New Vegas-inspired radio system, which features stations from each major faction, with each carrying around 20 original songs.

Factions have been fleshed out and improved for The Outer Worlds 2, and Obsidian says companions, of which there are six, have received the same treatment. Niles, an Earth Directorate agent whose story can be shaped by the player’s action, is the first companion you’ll meet. Today’s Direct also showcased the “somewhat cute” automech drone, who helps Niles, named Val, as well as the deadly assassin and mathematician Marisol, the cultlist Aza, a combat medic who survived experimentation named Inez, and Tristan, a heavily armored Protectorate arbiter.

The Bridge

Obsidian wants players to know that they’ve got options when it comes to how they choose to experience The Outer Worlds 2, and the best example of player choice is an early mission called The Bridge. It’s all about finding ways to lower a bridge, with players able to take more straightforward options like convincing The Protectorate to lower the bridge themselves, sneaking to the control room, and going in guns blazing.

Obsidian takes the options a step further, though, giving players the choice to use a shield that protects against poison gas to get around dangerous areas or jump boots that offer more traversal options. You can even sacrifice a companion in order to gain bridge clearance. This is the kind of freedom the team says players can expect from The Outer Worlds 2.

As today’s Direct came to a close, Obsidian shared its thoughts on the sequel, saying, “The Outer Worlds 2 is really the biggest game we’ve ever made.” As we move closer to its newly announced release date, it’s easy to see why. For more on The Outer Worlds 2, you can read up on its October release date announcement. You can also check out more information on its price, which is confirmed to be $80, as well as our talk with Obsidian's Marcus Morgan at IGN Live.

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).

Marcus Morgan, Obsidian's VP of Operations, came by IGN Live to discuss The Outer Worlds 2 in the lead up to its much-anticipated October 29 release date, including its Flaws system, a new ice planet that has become one of his favorites, a goo pistol, and more.

Morgan began by sharing that the sequel is digging deeper into the RPG aspects, remarking, “Obsidian is rooted in RPGs. We wanted to evolve with Outer Worlds.” He's not even comfortable calling The Outer Worlds 2 part RPG, part FPS. Instead, he stressed he would "only ever call it an RPG."

However, the team heard a lot of feedback that fans wanted gunplay and combat to evolve, so there will be plenty of new weapons to look forward to, including some that are science-based. Morgan also described “a melee weapon that, if you hit it to the beat, it amplifies the damage.” These new additions are meant to add to the experience while retaining the RPG core.

“One of my favorite weapons is the goo pistol," Morgan added while joking he doesn't condone littering in real life. "You take this biomass canister and you dump the goo into the gun and you chuck the canister away."

Morgan also wants to let those who have never played the first Outer Worlds to know that they won't get lost in this sequel, noting, “We’re moving to a brand new colony, Arcadia. with a brand new set of characters.” He described the Earth Directorate, the organization you are part of, as “sort of the space rangers of the universe. You’re there to protect against the tyrannies of capitalism, authoritarianism and various aspects of extreme religions with certain group."

Morgan was also particularly excited by Outer Worlds 2’s Flaws system, saying it was a way to take the usual idea of leveling up and putting a humorous spin on it. For example, one of these flaws is “The Sungazer Flaw - if you stare at the sun for too long you can regain health but the world is blurred out.” Another is for those who never run out of ammo as you'll do more damage. If you do let it run down, however, you'll be penalized with a debuff for a bit." He described the Flaws as “A fun way to integrate progression with levity.”

As for the Psychopath Perk, Morgan remarked, “One great thing in Outer Worlds 1 is you could kill every single person, and we brought it back in Outer Worlds 2. And you'll get a perk if you do that. Also, you can finish a quest even if you kill the quest giver.” On the other hand, “You can be a pacifist if you choose. You can talk your way through the entire game [without killing anyone]. You’ve got the entire spectrum.”

When it came to bugs, Morgan noted “We’re already in our bug fixing mode. This is probably the earliest we’ve been in that mode.”

Among the new planets in The Outer Worlds 2, Morgan revealed, “One of my favorites is a planet called Cloister. It’s a giant ice planet you go to because there’s a super computer trying to solve a big calculation.” He elaborated by saying the computer is connected to one of the game’s groups of religious fanatics who believe they can predict the future using math. In this case, the super computer and the immense energy (and resulting heat) it takes to power it are on Cloister to keep it cool, and Morgan said “I loved the nuance of why we created the ice world.”

Lastly, Morgan mentioned the first game’s Dumb mode and how they are leaning into those sorts of options again for Outer Worlds 2. They’ve also integrated their dialogue system into the title screen, and Morgan explained that as you load up the game “You might hear prompts like ‘Hey, you seem to be dying a lot. Should you lower your difficulty?’”

The Outer Worlds 2 will be released on October 29, 2025, and it will officially be Microsoft's first $80 game.

For more, check out our hands-on preview of The Outer Worlds 2 and the incredible Moon Man Statue and artbook from Dark Horse for the game.

Anno 117: Pax Romana will officially be released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on November 13, 2025.

This latest entry in the beloved Anno series is finally taking players to Rome and allowing them to become a governor in charge of, among other things, encouraging economic growth, expanding their empire through war, leading a rebellion, uniting the different people in the region under one banner, and much more.

We were able to get our hands on Anno 117: Pax Romana in May and said, "I can already see myself losing dozens of hours to Anno 117: Pax Romana. Much of what made Anno 1800 such a great time has been deftly carried over here, while the building-specific bonuses and dedicated research tree are each smart innovations that, deployed wisely, can supercharge your economy."

Anno 117 takes place, unsurprisingly, in 117 AD and sets you loose in the uncharted territories of the Roman Empire with two provinces - Latium and Albion - under your control. The choice is up to you in how you rule and expand, and the fate of an empire will be up to you.

We had the chance to speak to creative director Manuel Reinher and brand director Haye Anderson about why this is the most exciting time to be or become a fan of the series and why this really is an Anno for the modern age."

"We want to tell the untold story of how it was to govern Roman provinces," Reinher said, "During that era, there was over 200 years of peace and it was the time after a big conquest. And we are talking an empire of people from three continents that accounted for almost 20% of the world's population. So, the story we are trying to tell is how did the Romans manage to stabilize this?"

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

We’ve finally gotten our first look at IO Interactive’s new James Bond game: 007: First Light. It’s an origin story of the infamous spy, showing how he “earned the number” of 007.

So far, everything we’ve seen has been cinematic and story-focused, so there are still plenty of questions lingering about how First Light will play, and who exactly this new Bond will be. Fortunately, I was able to sit down with IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak at an IO Interactive event this weekend and grill him on everything Bond. While he wouldn’t tell me who they had cast as the new Bond (the internet thinks it’s Patrick Gibson, but Abrak says they’re “waiting a bit” to reveal the cast), he did confirm that 007: First Light isn’t part of the film canon; it’s a “standalone, reimagined interpretation.”

“I think from the get-go that was extremely important for us that we will be able to put our fingerprints on this,” Abrak said. “This is the first game we are making that is not our IP. IO is a creative house that's created five original IPs and we are doing the sixth IP on the Fantasy Project [literally codenamed Project Fantasy] we're working on as well. So we have to pour something of ourselves into what we do.

“...It was such a huge opportunity to take such a beloved franchise and then a privilege to be able to pour our originality into that. And our take was, well, we wanted to reimagine his becoming story. We wanted to reimagine a coming-of-age, this young man with all his quirkiness and optimism, his wits and his personality. Getting introduced to these intrigues and espionage, this harsh world of dog-eats-dog and how he fares and how he manages that with his inner values.”

But even if the story itself is creating its own canon independent from the movies, that doesn’t mean IO Interactive isn’t taking cues from the film Bond. For one, Abrak said he got “some insight” into how film Bonds are typically cast and what the film directors usually look for. But ultimately, IO Interactive was left to its own devices as to how it wanted to proceed on selecting a new Bond. And it did end up picking a real actor.

“It was a blank slate, which is a huge privilege, that we can cast these people or try to 3D-model something," he said. "Is it going to be an actor, or not, and what do we do? So that was really, really daunting. I tell you this, it took a long time, and we've been through a few models to figure out what we wanted. But I think the process was chaotic, to be honest. I mean the process was feeling it, trying some things out, feeling the emotional... And it's not necessarily huge A/B tests out there with a lot of agencies and whatnot. It was very important for us to feel his warmth or charm, his quirkiness and all these things. But then we found someone and we’re really, really happy about it today.”

We’ll be publishing our full interview with Abrak later this week, including discussion of not just 007: First Light, but also the future of the Hitman franchise and upcoming IO Interactive-published game MindsEye. We’ll keep waiting to hear more about 007: First Light, including gameplay, sometime soon. It launches in 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Microsoft has confirmed The Outer Worlds 2 costs $79.99 in the U.S. — it's the first Xbox Game Studios game to make the jump.

The Steam page for Obsidian’s role-playing sequel revealed the $80 figure for the standard edition. Microsoft had confirmed it would follow Nintendo’s lead and make the jump with its games in time for the holiday season. It seems The Outer Worlds 2 will kick off this new Xbox video game pricing structure when it comes out on October 29, 2025, but it's worth noting that as an Xbox Game Studios title, it will of course launch straight into the Game Pass subscription service on day one.

Explaining the price-hike decision in May, Microsoft told IGN: “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players.”

Much of the industry has been discussing and gradually implementing price increases in recent years, with AAA game prices jumping from $60 to $70 in just the last five years, and Nintendo going with $80 for Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart World and some other Switch 2 Edition games.

Last month, Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford sparked a backlash in responding to a fan who had expressed concern about the prospect of paying $80 for Borderlands 4, saying: “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

During a recent PAX East panel, Pitchford offered his thoughts on video game pricing. "On one level, we've got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible and they want to be careful about people that are price-sensitive," he said. "There are some folks who don't want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are.

"There's other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there's tariffs for the retail packaging. It's getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget than Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don't know what the price is going to be.”

Given The Outer Worlds 2 costs $80, we can assume the just-announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will too, although it doesn’t have a release date yet. 2026’s Gears of War: E-Day, the new Fable, and the next Forza will surely also cost $80.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Dark Horse is releasing a new line of collectibles based on Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds 2. As revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 stream, the first entries in that lineup include an artbook called The Art of The Outer Worlds 2 and a really cool statue of the iconic mascot Moon Man.

IGN can exclusively debut the first images of The Outer Worlds 2: Moon Man Statue, which is being released through Dark Horse Direct. Check them out in the slideshow gallery below:

The Outer Worlds 2: Moon Man Statue depicts the Spacer's Choice mascot riding atop a rocketship. The statue features a light-up LED exhaust and oversized, glowing head. The statue measures 10” tall, 5” wide, and 3.75” deep.

The statue is priced at $159.99 and is limited to just 500 units worldwide. It's exclusive to the Dark Horse Direct website.

If you were tuning into Xbox Games Showcase 2025 hoping to see Gears of War: E-Day, you may have been left disappointed. Today's show was light on Microsoft's biggest franchises — with nothing from Forza, Halo or the upcoming Fable reboot.

Instead, Xbox boss Phil Spencer promised that 2026 would be the year Gears of War: E-Day arrives, alongside the next Forza game, as the Xbox brand celebrates its 25th anniversary.

The next chapter in Xbox's veteran Gears of War series was formally announced a year ago, at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. E-Day will be a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War game, and an origin story for classic heroes Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, voiced once again by John DiMiaggio and Carlos Ferro.

"Gears of War: E-Day is not just our next major game; it's a return to what makes Gears of War games special and authentic," Coalition studio boss Mike Crump said previously. Earlier this year, Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgment studio People Can Fly was announced as a co-developer on E-Day, alongside Xbox's own studio The Coalition.

Until next year, fans have Gears of War: Reloaded, a remake of the series' original title, to look forward to, which launches for PC, Xbox Series X/S — and, for the first time, PlayStation 5 — on August 26.

Today's Xbox Games Showcase also featured a tease by Phil Spencer of a long-awaited return for Halo, with potentially a remaster of the series' original title. For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Microsoft is reportedly set to release a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster in 2026.

During the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer teased a number of new games coming out next year, including the new Fable, the next Forza, Gears of War: E-Day, and "the return of a classic that’s been with us since the beginning."

While that’s an obvious tease for Halo, The Verge reporter Mark Warren has said it specifically relates to a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster.

here's Xbox chief Phil Spencer announcing Gears of War: E-Day for 2026, and in the same year "the next Forza" and a tease of a Halo CE remaster pic.twitter.com/tTueF3YQcR

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 8, 2025

Warren had reported on the existence of this game before, which is apparently under consideration for release on rival platforms including PlayStation 5. Of course, Microsoft remastered Halo CE with 2011’s Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which was made a part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

This is not a brand new Halo game, then, which we know Halo Studios, which used to be called 343 Industries, is using Unreal Engine 5 to build. In 2024, Halo Studios released a seven-minute video showcasing the results of Project Foundry — an experimental project designed to show a Halo game built using the Unreal Engine. While it's not much more than a tech demo, it offered a glimpse at a fresh beginning for Xbox's flagship franchise in the wake of 2021's Halo Infinite.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Xbox fans finally get a chance to catch up with recent some recent Final Fantasy games — including a shadow drop of Final Fantasy 16 today.

Later this year, sometime this winter, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will also follow.

After a two-year wait, the sixteenth main Final Fantasy finally drops on Xbox Series X/S right now, having first launched for PlayStation 5 in June 2023, and on PC in September 2024.

Final Fantasy 7 first launched in 2020 for PlayStation 4, before its Intergrade upgrade arrived a year later on PC and PS5.

All of which is to say that Xbox fans have been waiting a long time for these games, but their arrival this year suggests Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will follow in the somewhat not-too-distant future.

"Its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer, and the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how lengthy, story-heavy games keep players invested in its world," IGN wrote in our Final Fantasy 16 review.

"[It]s dull filler and convoluted additions can cause it to stumble, but it still breathes exciting new life into a classic while standing as a great RPG all its own," IGN wrote in our Final Fantasy 7 Remake review.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was announced at Xbox Games Showcase 2025 with a cinematic trailer.

Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the first ever consecutive release within the Black Ops sub-series. Matt Cox, General Manager of Call of Duty, insisted that “as a team, our vision from the start was to create a back-to-back series experience for our players that embraced the uniqueness of the Black Ops sub-franchise.”

No release window was announced, but Black Ops 7 is confirmed to release later in 2025. Here's the official blurb:

Wielding cutting-edge technology, David Mason and his team must fight back against a manipulative enemy who weaponizes fear above all else.

Black Ops 7 is set in 2035, more than 40 years after the events of Black Ops 6, at a time when the world is on the brink of chaos following the events of Black Ops 2 and last year’s Black Ops 6. Co-op campaign returns for Black Ops 7 after 6 skipped it (you can still play the campaign solo). Expect to use near-future weaponry in Multiplayer, with brand-new maps. Meanwhile, there’s the next chapter of Round-Based Zombies in the heart of the Dark Aether.

According to Variety, Black Ops 7 will star Milo Ventimiglia, Kiernan Shipka, and Michael Rooker. Ventimiglia will play David Mason, Shipka plays a new character called Emma Kagen, and Rooker reprises his Black Ops 2 role of Mike Harper.

By announcing Black Ops 7 to follow Black Ops 6 just a year later, some fans will consider the game something of a stop-gap, as 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 was considered by some within the community given it followed 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 just a year later.

But Cox insisted Black Ops 7 “delivers the full Call of Duty package for our players, and we can't wait to show the community more of what the studio teams have been working on when we reveal later this summer.”

Tyler Bahl, Head of Activision Publishing Marketing, added: “The team is looking to build on the incredible community enthusiasm and excitement we’ve seen within the Black Ops universe. This is the first time we’re staying within the Black Ops series with back-to-back releases, so we’re excited to give players a bit more time to enjoy all the live seasons and provide players more of what they want across Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone before we turn the page to Black Ops 7.

“Our official teaser sets the tone for players to embrace the madness that’s incoming with Black Ops 7’s story.

“Delivering consecutive Black Ops games also allows our teams the tremendous opportunity to tap not only into our own creativity but also embrace the shift from a ’90s setting to the new 2035 future setting within our marketing."

Also confirmed is that Activision is sticking with last-gen consoles for Black Ops 7, which is due out across Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via “Xbox PC,” Battle.net, and Steam. As you’d expect, you can play day-one on Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. There was no mention of Nintendo Switch 2 in the announcement.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Following Psychonauts 2, Double Fine has been hard at work on a new game that was just revealed at today's Xbox Games Showcase. It's called Keeper, and it puts you in the wobbly legs of a walking sapient lighthouse driven by a silly-looking bird.

The footage shows a goofy bird landing atop a lighthouse, which then sprouts spindly legs and begins trotting off across the continent with the bird seemingly helping or helming the operation. It's not clear just yet what the lighthouse is after, why or how it can walk, or what it's relationship with the bird is, but the world it's wandering is clearly a fantastical one in the dreamy vein of other Double Fine games.

Strange as it seems, we've got high hopes for Keeper after Double Fine's past work. We gave Psychonauts 2 an 8/10, with our reviewer saying that its "weird and wonderfully written story is full of interesting, nuanced characters that I instantly fell in love with." and that "Double Fine has also done a great job of expanding this universe toward both grander and more intimate threats without losing the joyous childhood adventure vibes of the original."

Keeper is out on October 17 for PlayStastion 5, Xbox, and PC.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Xbox Games Showcase right here, and keep up on the bevy of new announcements all weekend at IGN Live here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Skybound Entertainment's in-development Invincible fighting game was shown today at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. It's called InvincibleVS, and it's a 3v3 tag fighting game featuring characters fans of the comics and animated series will be familiar with, including Mark Grayson (Invincible), Omni-Man, Thula, AtomEve, and Bulletproof.

Expect a launch in 2026 across Xbox Series X and S with Xbox Play Anywhere, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Here's the official blurb:

Based on Skybound’s acclaimed comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley - which had a 15-year run at Image Comics and a historic 146 issues - Invincible VS delivers a one-of-a-kind blend of superhero spectacle and brutal combat. Players will harness explosive powers and unleash bone-breaking combos through fast tag-team mechanics and strategic defensive play. With every vicious Super and Ultimate move, players will deal more damage to their opponents and leave the arenas in a mess of blood.

“I have said this before, and I’ll say it again: this is the most excited I’ve been about anything involving Invincible,” said Kirkman. “Invincible VS is crazy fun, fast, ferocious and dripping with the same over-the-top brutality that you’ll see in the comic book pages and on the show. It is a natural evolution of the franchise and it is everything that fans have been demanding for over a decade! This is without a doubt, probably the best superhero fighting game in the universe!”

Invincible VS will offer players a variety of dynamic game modes that raise the stakes with every battle. Whether diving into a captivating single player story, climbing the ranks in a competitive and casual multiplayer Versus mode, unlocking character arcs in Arcade or mastering devastating combos in Training, players will experience unparalleled heroic brutality, where every earth-shattering blow will leave them feeling… Invincible.

“As huge fans of the franchise, it was an honor to work with Robert, as well as the comic book and TV series teams, to create the most authentic Invincible experience for players,” said Mike Willette, Executive Producer of Invincible VS. “In Invincible VS, every move, every line of dialogue, every broken limb and bloodied mouth carries real cost and consequence - all building toward the bone-deep satisfaction of victory. No tag fighting game has ever delivered this level of intensity and violence. This game is a love letter to the fighting game community, created by a team of passionate, experienced fans of the genre.”

We first heard about InvincibleVS last year, when Skybound Entertainment announced a crowdfunding campaign to fund its development. At the time, we learned it would be created by an internal 30-person studio at Skybound made up of industry veterans from studios such as Activision Blizzard, EA, and Epic Games. If this game is anywhere near as good as the TV series, now in its third season, there's a lot to be excited about.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

After months of poorly-kept secrets, Atlus has officially revealed that a remake of Persona 4 is really happening.

In a brief trailer, we got our first look at P4R: Persona 4 Revival for Xbox, PS5, and PC, and will be available day one on Game Pass. We didn't get to see much of the game, but the environments we got a brief look at appeared to be significantly visually improved from the original.

Following the announcement, developer P-Studio director Kazuhisa Wada shared the following messages:

We are very pleased to announce the release of Persona 4 Revival. We look forward to sharing even more information in due time.

Persona 4 has spawned numerous spin-off works, including TV anime, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, and Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and is a special title that has been a part of Atlus for many years and holds a personal place in my heart. We are currently working on this project with all our passion and love. We are confident that this will be a fresh and surprising product for both newcomers and long-time fans and we look forward to sharing it with you all.

Additionally, we are actively preparing for the future development of the Persona series as a studio. We are working hard to meet the expectations of fans around the world and our work is progressing well. Please stay tuned for more updates.

We look forward to your continued support of the Persona series.

Fans have been gossiping about a proper Persona 4 remake for a while now, fueled by recent registered domain names, industry insiders, and more recently, multiple of the original voice actors saying they would not be returning for the then-unannounced remake, sparking conspiracy theories about their posts.

We gave the original Persona 4 a 9/10 back in the day, saying, "A significant improvement over the previous Persona games in many ways, Persona 4 provides a deeper dungeon crawling/social link experience that makes it engaging to play." An enhanced version, Persona 4 Golden, has since become the best way to enjoy the game on modern consoles, but fans have long lamented that it's not available on Nintendo Switch, despite years of fan begging.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Xbox Games Showcase right here, and keep up on the bevy of new announcements all weekend at IGN Live here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

IGN exclusively revealed new footage from the upcoming second season of Peacock’s Twisted Metal at IGN Live today. (The clip can be viewed via the player above or the embed below.) Showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith also appeared at IGN Live to tout the show’s new season.

In Season 2, the mysterious Calypso (Anthony Carrigan) invites all the killers, vigilantes and joyriders of the Divided States of America to participate in a demolition derby tournament with the promise of making the winner’s greatest wish come true.

IGN’s exclusive scene depicts the commencement of the Twisted Metal Tournament as participants ranging from John Doe (Anthony Mackie) and Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz) to Sweet Tooth (Joe Seanoa & Will Arnett) and Dollface (Tiana Okoye) all hit the road, guns a-blazin’.

The clip also shows quick looks at the half-man, half-machine Axel in his War Wheel form.

And then there’s Mayhem, a new character introduced this season played by Saylor Bell Curda. Mayhem has only known a post-apocalyptic world (or, as the show refers to her generation, “apo-babies”).

With John spending part of his storyline this season with his sister Dollface, Quiet required a new character to share scenes with so she becomes, as Beatriz recently told us for our Twisted Metal Season 2 cover story, a “cool aunt” for Mayhem.

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but she's a little piece of shit,” Beatriz said of Mayhem. “She's a talker. She lies through her teeth. She's a teenager in this world, so she's grown up inside the world of Twisted Metal. She doesn't really remember anything before. She's really learned how to survive in this world, but I also think Quiet sees that she has a lot of potential, meaning that she's smart, she learns quickly, and once she is able to listen, then Quiet can really take her under her wing and teach her quite a bit.”

This exclusive sequence depicts just some of the vehicular mayhem fans of the PlayStation games franchise can expect from the new season of Twisted Metal, which launches on Peacock on July 31st.

PC gaming handhelds have flooded the market at this point, yet with each new model or device, there are always a handful of things you wish they did better. Whether it be clunky software, uncomfortable controls, or not being able to access a certain library of games, some form of shortcoming has been present across handheld gaming PCs. But after getting a brief hands-on demo with the Xbox Ally X, I think we might be the closest we’ve been to having the ideal gaming handheld when it launches during the holiday season this year.

The Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally are the upcoming handheld gaming PCs made in collaboration between Asus (makers of the ROG Ally) and Microsoft, and they’re specifically designed for the Xbox platform. Small things like having the Xbox button to pull up the Xbox app, streamlining the app itself, and optimizing PC games so they run properly without having to fiddle with too many settings go a long way in making these appealing in a sea of options already out there. Those little things matter, but so does raw graphics power, especially if these systems are meant to keep up with PC games now and in the future.

The Numbers, What Do They Mean?

So, let’s get the specs out of the way. The Xbox Ally X is the top-of-the-line model, sporting the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU, 24GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD powered by a 80Wh battery – the base-level Xbox Ally rocks the Ryzen Z2 A chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD with a 60Wh battery. Both use the same 7.0-inch screen, which is a 1080p (1920x1080) resolution IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and it’s capable of variable refresh rate (VRR) and FreeSync to reduce screen tearing when performance fluctuates. Nothing has been shared on battery life as it's still being tested and fine-tuned.

For those who don’t live in the realm of PC hardware, the AI Z2 Extreme is a newly-announced variant of the Z2 Extreme, a very powerful APU (Advanced Processing Unit) that sits at the cutting edge of all-in-one processors for portable gaming. Announced at CES 2025, it’s the new generation of the Z1 Extreme that powers the current top-level ROG Ally X, and that chip is already quite impressive. While I only got hands-on with the Xbox Ally X, we already know that the base model Xbox Ally is going to be noticeably scaled-down in performance since the Z2 A chip is much weaker than its Extreme counterpart. The Z2 Go that powers the Legion Go S was a letdown, and looking at the hard specs, the Z2 A looks to be similar, and underwhelming for pure performance. However, if this paves the way for a more affordable option that can still manage playable frame rates without sacrificing too much in visuals, that’s not a bad thing.

While the actual gameplay experience with the base-level Xbox Ally is still in question since I didn't get to use it, I must say that the Xbox Ally X delivers an optimal gameplay experience. I played Gears of War: Reloaded for about 15 minutes running at 1080p with high settings, AMD FSR 3.1 at Quality mode, 16x anisotropic filtering, and maintained a smooth 60 fps the entire time – it’s worth noting that the system was running in Turbo mode, which increases power to get higher performance at the expense of heat and battery life. Granted, Gears of War: Reloaded is a remaster of an Xbox 360-era game, which is not to diminish what seems to be a great overhaul of the original Gears of War, but there’s a difference between that and trying to run, say, Doom: The Dark Ages at maximum settings. That’s also to say, we’ve yet to see the full potential of the Xbox Ally X’s Z2 Extreme.

I’m excited to dig into performance when the time comes and benchmark more demanding games, but that’s all I can really speak to with first-hand experience. However, the meaningful leaps in tech aren’t necessarily in graphics and frame rates, because anyone who has used a Windows-based handheld gaming device knows how much a headache it is to use. The user experience of Windows 11 on the original ROG Ally fluctuates between just fine and absolutely miserable, and this is the biggest problem these new systems address.

User Experience Matters

The Xbox Ally systems run a super-slim version of Windows underneath the newly built Xbox app. It’s still a PC at the end of the day, but Windows has been modified to cut out unnecessary processes and defer tasks that don’t contribute to running games while still allowing for wide compatibility for other applications. And the Xbox app has evolved to be easily navigable with a gamepad while more neatly packing your library within the familiar UI. What’s even better is that the Xbox app lets you import your games from other storefronts such as Steam, Epic Games, and/or GOG so you can aggregate all your games in one place – with everything centralized in the Xbox app, it effectively functions like an all-in-one launcher.

There’s still room for improvement, since the design of the Xbox app itself could be more intuitive and user friendly when it comes to how games and options are laid out, and I’m hoping it makes those strides before launch as it is still an early build of the system. I’m still skeptical of its AI Copilot integration as well, which feels like it’s being wedged into places it doesn’t need to be. Yes, using a Ryzen AI processor lets something like this possible, but it being pitched as a way to ask for help and guides in games isn’t going to sell me on the idea.

The other major stride that comes with the Xbox Ally is its ergonomic design; think of it as an Xbox controller split in half with a screen and powerful system slapped in the middle of it. It feels like you’re holding an actual controller, so it has the comfort and performance you expect from a proper gaming platform, which was a notable downside of the original Asus ROG Ally design. I’d say it matches the Steam Deck in terms of ergonomics, but the Xbox stick layout, button feel, and impulse triggers give the Xbox Ally the edge. The downside is that this thing is quite bulky at 290.8mm wide, 121.5mm tall, and 50.7mm deep, and while the full controller-style grips are nice, I’m not sure if I’d call this thing sleek. I’m not sure if it’s the most portable device relative to its counterparts, but I suppose that’s the compromise you have to make.

New Tech Won’t Come Cheap

The biggest question that now remains is price point. Powerful hardware, a streamlined operating system, and the ideal ergonomics for a gaming handheld are all key areas that are addressed with the Xbox Ally X, but it shouldn’t come at a cost that boxes out a large swath of interested folks. I suppose that’s what the lesser Xbox Ally model is for, but I’m still wary of its performance based on the on-paper specs we have for now. Asus and Microsoft aren’t sharing price ranges yet, given that it’s still a ways out and market conditions are fluctuating by the minute, but I can guarantee that this thing isn’t going to be cheap – and what I would consider “reasonably priced” for a device of this caliber would still be sticker shock in the console space.

Regardless of where the Xbox Ally X falls in terms of pricing, an important knock-on effect is that it’s pushing the Windows and Xbox ecosystem to better accommodate handheld PCs. With iteration, it’ll get even better and it’d be nice to see other handhelds adopt those advancements in the future. So, even if you don’t pick up an Xbox Ally X, you’ll likely see its influence in other handhelds you might be interested in, and hopefully everybody wins.

Microsoft has just announced a sequel to Grounded during its Xbox Games Showcase 2025 — and you'll be able to play it as soon as next month.

Grounded 2 is an all-new entry in Obsidian's pint-size garden survival game, which is basically Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Just as with the original Grounded, this follow-up will launch via Xbox Game Preview, giving you early access to the title as it's developed. You can try it out from July 29, 2025 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Today's reveal trailer, above, shows gameplay outside the original Grounded's back garden location. Now down the road in a park, you'll once again need to craft your means of survival and take on menacing critters, now including caterpillars.

But not all wildlife will be against you. The trailer also showed the cool ability to leap on the back of an ant and use it as a mount. Now, that's very Honey I Shrunk the Kids indeed.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Game Freak, best known for the Pokémon series of video games, has revealed Beast of Reincarnation.

Announced during Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Beast of Reincarnation marks a departure from what we’re used to seeing from Game Freak, with action RPG gameplay reminiscent of the likes of Black Myth: Wukong.

It’s due out 2026 across Xbox Series X and Xbox PC, Xbox Cloud, PC via Steam, and PlayStation 5. It's also a day-one Game Pass title.

Directed by Kota Furushima, Beast of Reincarnation allows players to step into the role of Emma the Sealer as they journey through post-apocalyptic Japan to save humanity from extinction.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle's first expansion, The Order of the Giants, now has a release date — and it's only a few months' away.

The Order of the Giants will arrive on September 4, 2025, a brief teaser shown during today's Xbox Games Showcase 2025 revealed. That's for all platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, and yes, the newer PlayStation 5 version of the game too.

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle was one of the best games of 2024, and more of it is a very good thing. It looks like we'll be seeing more of the game's mysterious race of forerunner Nephilim Order giants in this expansion — though whether that also means more of the late Tony Todd's character of Locus remains to be seen.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants arrives September 4​.
​
✅ Xbox Play Anywhere​
​
Learn more: https://t.co/wa41n4fjmo | #XboxShowcase pic.twitter.com/zReb4rLhhA

— Xbox (@Xbox) June 8, 2025

Intriguingly, The Order of Giants sounds like it will be set within the narrative of the existing game, and build on its existing Rome location. Jones will begin the DLC's storyline by speaking to a new character, Father Ricci, who's seeking (yet another) mysterious artifact.

"One of the most satisfying parts of developing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was the opportunity to create the Nephilim Order, the secret society of giants formed by descendants of fallen angels working to atone for their ancestral sins,” production director John Jennings said in a statement today.

“That story spans thousands of years and this DLC has given us the opportunity to develop further upon their lore and look at other aspects not covered in the initial story campaign. There’s something new and unexpected to tell here for fans of the game, and we can’t wait for people to be able to play it for themselves.”

Beyond and beneath Rome, players will visit new areas of the city and its ancient sewer system, somehow take part in Emperor Nero’s secret gladiator games, and face off with the Cult of Mithras (yet another!) secet organisation.

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

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

If you’ve been looking to up your audio game, today is a great day to grab some gear. Beats, Sonos, and Apple AirPods are all on sale — many are discounted to the lowest prices of the year. AirPods aren’t the only discounted Apple product, as the MacBook Air M4, just released in March, already has $150 slashed from its price. Plus, Father’s Day is only a week away, June 15th. Make sure you check out the deals I found on great Father’s Day gifts, like grills, controllers, Stanley cups, and more.

TL:DR: Best Deals Today

Don’t forget PlayStation’s Days of Play sale is happening until June 11th, bringing big deals on games and gear. You can even score the DualSense and DualSense Edge for cheap. Of course, the Nintendo Switch 2 also dropped on Thursday, so I’ve found a few awesome discounts on accessories for the gaming console.

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2025, M4)

Beats Headphones Sale

Dyson Ball Allergy Plus Upright Vacuum

Razer Wolverine V3 Pro

Sonos Father’s Day Sale

40oz Stanley Quencher

Traeger Grills Pro 22 Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker

Nintendo Switch 2 Accessory Deals

If you were lucky enough to score a Nintendo Switch 2, chances are good you’ll want to accessorize the handheld to keep it safe and get the best gaming experience. Luckily, there are already loads of deals on everything from cases and screen protectors to thumbstick grips and portable chargers.

You can grab a screen protector for under $5 using the coupon code we provided. Maybe you want to switch up the grip on your Joy-Cons? Well, some comfort handles are on sale and bring a more typical controller experience to the Joy-Cons. Even the best lap desk for Switch 2 is discounted for Prime members and ready for you to make the most of the Joy-Cons’ new “mouse mode” when lounging on the couch with the Switch docked.

DualSense Controller Deals

PlayStation’s Days of Play sale continues, bringing some killer discounts on games and accessories. So, if you’ve been waiting to grab a new DualSense controller, now’s the time. A wide range of colors are all discounted below $60 for savings of $15 or more. These are the biggest deals we’ve seen this year on this wireless gamepad that’s comfortable to use, compatible with a range of gaming devices, and full of reliable controls.

Apple AirPods Pro and AirPods 4 Are on Sale Now

Meta Quest 3S

My Arcade Pole Position Racing Player: Retro Mini Arcade Game Console

CASABREWS 5700Gense

Microsoft has finally announced the Xbox Ally X, after months of speculation that it was working on some kind of handheld gaming PC. What makes this handheld especially interesting is that Microsoft is tuning up its software to make Windows more usable with a controller, even having the OS launch straight into a refined Xbox App.

If that sounds familiar, it's because the Steam Deck works in a very similar way. Valve tuned its handheld to run on a specialized version of Linux, and the device boots straight into what's essentially a handheld version of Steam Big Picture mode. If Microsoft is able to pull it off, this could be the moment Windows handhelds have been waiting for.

We'll have to wait a bit longer to see just how well the Xbox Ally X holds its own against the Steam Deck, but we already know a bunch about the new handheld. So how do the two compare so far?

Xbox Ally X vs. Steam Deck: Specs

Both the Xbox Ally X and the Steam Deck are built on AMD APUs that were specifically made for handheld gaming PCs. However, with three years seperating the devices, a lot has changed.

The Steam Deck came out before the Z1 Extreme that powered the first wave of mainstream Windows handhelds like the ROG Ally. But the chip is similar in a lot of ways. It's an APU with a 4-core, 8-thread Zen 2 CPU, which is paired with an 8-core RDNA 2 GPU. While this chipset can do a lot, especially in the lower-specced indie games that thrive on the handheld, it is getting up there in age. After all, Zen 2 launched in 2019 with the Ryzen 9 3900X, and RDNA 2 in 2020 with the Radeon RX 6800 XT.

The Steam Deck processor actually looks a lot like the non-X Xbox Ally, which has AMD's new 'Z2 A' APU. Despite that new name, however, it very closely matches the Steam Deck's specs.

The other Microsoft handheld takes things to another level though. The Xbox Ally X is powered by the AMD AI Z2 Extreme. This APU is nearly identical to the Z2 Extreme that AMD announced at CES 2025, just with an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) stapled onto it. Beyond the AI capabilities though, it's still an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 CPU, paired with an RDNA 3.5 GPU with 16 cores. If the RDNA 3.5 architecture name looks weird to you, you're definitely not alone. But all you need to know is that it's basically the same as the RDNA 3 architecture that powered the Radeon 7000 series of graphics cards, but with some optimizations for low-power APUs.

Not only does the Xbox Ally X have literally double the CPU and GPU cores of the Steam Deck, but it's using much newer silicon. I won't know exactly how the new handheld performs until I get it in the lab, but I can already tell you that it's going to be much faster.

Winner: Xbox Ally X

Xbox Ally X vs. Steam Deck: Display

As much as I love a high-resolution screen, Valve really did make a great choice by using an 800p display for the Steam Deck. By keeping the resolution down, more games are able to run well on the Steam Deck without having to tweak with settings too much. Yeah, 800p is arguably low-res in 2025, but that doesn't stop the Steam Deck OLED from looking incredible, especially in games like Hades.

The Xbox Ally X is taking a different approach with its 1080p 120Hz LCD display. Not only does it have a higher resolution, but it's also faster than even the 90Hz Steam Deck OLED, which is huge for games that can actually run that fast on a handheld.

The debate between fast screens and pretty screens is nothing new, so really it depends on what you're looking for. I'm a firm believer that even a lower-res OLED display looks better than a high-res LCD screen, but if you're purely after response times, the Xbox Ally X is going to be better.

Winner: It depends.

Xbox Ally X vs. Steam Deck: Game Compatibility

Looking back on it, it's kind of incredible that the Steam Deck was able to play so many games out of the gate, despite running on Linux. This was thanks in large part to Valve's Proton translation layer, which essentially allows the device to emulate Windows. It's not a perfect solution, but it did give the Steam Deck access to a ton of Windows games that it wouldn't otherwise have access to. But it was largely locked to Steam.

You absolutely could install Windows 11 on the Steam Deck and get it running the Xbox app and other launchers, but it was a massive to-do that most people didn't want to, uh, do. The Xbox Ally X, however, doesn't need a translation layer to run games.

The big advantage of Microsoft co-developing a handheld is that it's running Windows. Microsoft is modifying it a bit to make it easier to use on a handheld, but the guts are still the same, which means pretty much any PC game will work on the new device. So while Steam has an undeniably huge library, being able to access any game that runs on Windows automatically gives the win to the Xbox Ally X.

Winner: Xbox Ally X

Xbox Ally X vs. Steam Deck: Price

Beyond a vague "Holiday 2025" release window, I have no idea when the Xbox Ally X will be coming out, let alone how much the thing will cost. However, it is probably going to be a bit more expensive than the Steam Deck. The Asus ROG Ally X – which launched with very similar specs but with the last-gen equivalent APU – ran for $799 at launch. Given that everything is getting more expensive this year, I would at least not expect it to be cheaper.

We know exactly how much the Steam Deck costs, though. You can get a base-model Steam Deck starting at $399. That'll get you a handheld with a 256GB SSD and an LCD display. You can up that cost to $549 for the OLED version with a 512GB SSD and a slightly bigger battery. Or, you can go all out for $649 to upgrade to a 1TB SSD.

Because Microsoft can subsidize its hardware a bit, I could see the Xbox Ally X launching for the same price as 1TB Steam Deck OLED, but not for much less. And you'd be missing out on the gorgeous OLED display.

(Likely) Winner: Steam Deck

The Winner (for Now): Xbox Ally X

So much of what will truly make the Xbox Ally X better than the Steam Deck is kind of in limbo right now, but at least one thing is for certain: It'll be more powerful. Plus, running Windows will give it easier access to basically any PC game ever. Really, the thing I'm waiting to see is how much Microsoft can actually improve the Windows 11 experience on a handheld. If the company can even bring it close to the same ease-of-use enjoyed by the Steam Deck, it'll be a huge win for the Xbox handheld.

The price is likely going to be the pain point for most people. Microsoft hasn't revealed how much either of its new handhelds are going to cost, but there's a reason the Steam Deck has remained so popular, even if it looks a little long in the tooth compared to expensive devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and the Asus ROG Ally X.

For now, things are looking good for the Xbox Ally X. We're just going to have to wait and see how it does in the lab to make a definitive call in this handheld cage match.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Super Meat Boy returned in all his gory glory at today's Xbox Games Showcase, in the unveiling of Super Meat Boy 3D. It's exactly what it sounds like: a 3D Super Meat Boy game, and it's coming to Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in early 2026.

Today's trailer sure does look like exactly what is says on the tin: it's fast, gory gameplay through short, sharp obstacle courses full of machines that can tear a little meat guy apart. Meat Boy bounces his way through them, leaving a trailer of, uh, meat juice, wherever he lands, with slidey physics down walls and tight jumping windows. But of course, it's all in a 3D world instead of a 2D space, which will likely dramatically change how the platforming works, where you can go, and the sorts of challenges placed before you.

Meat Boy began as a 2008 Flash game created by Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee that has since grown into a sensation with the subsequent release of Super Meat Boy a few years later. Super Meat Boy is an ultra-hard platformer beloved for its tight, precise platforming and fast respawns on short maps that allow players to try again and again and again with almost no downtime. The games are notoriously gorey, given that the main character is essentially made of meat and keeps slamming into meat grinders.

A sequel to Super Meat Boy, Super Meat Boy Forever, was released in 2020 without the involvement of McMillen. It's unclear if McMillen is involved in this 3D rendition.

Weirdly, there was a green Mario warp pipe shown at the start of the trailer, despite Super Meat Boy 3D not being announced for a Nintendo console at the moment, and this being an Xbox showcase. No explanation for that at the moment.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Xbox Games Showcase right here, and keep up on the bevy of new announcements all weekend at IGN Live here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

After months of leaks and teases, Microsoft has finally announced the Xbox Ally at the Xbox Games Showcase. This is a handheld gaming PC that'll be running on a version of Windows 11 designed to be more usable on, well, a handheld.

Microsoft announced two versions of the Xbox handheld, the Xbox Ally and the Xbox Ally X. The latter of which is powered by a new AMD handheld processor, the AMD AI Z2 Extreme. The non-X variant is powered by the Z2 A and will be much less powerful. What's interesting about the Ally X is that it's powered by a chip with a built-in NPU capable of 50 TOPs of AI performance, which will technically make it a Copilot+ laptop in handheld form. Just in time for Microsoft to work Copilot into the Xbox App.

Just like the Asus ROG Ally X that came out in July 2024, the Xbox Ally X will have a 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate and VRR support through Freesync Premium. We don't know if it's the exact same display, but even if it is, the new Ally will have a gorgeous screen.

• ROG Xbox Ally X vs Steam Deck

For the Xbox Ally X, Microsoft has also tuned its software to work better on handheld devices. When this handheld ships sometime this year, it'll boot straight into a new handheld-focused version of the Xbox App. Unlike the version of the app that exists right now, the redesign will serve as a central launch hub that connects all of your PC games libraries, such as Steam, Epic Games, and whatever else.

Microsoft hasn't revealed an official release date, but has suggested that the Xbox Ally X and Ally will launch during the holiday season. No pricing has been revealed either, but given that it has similar specs to the ROG Ally X, you can expect a price around $799.

Under the Cover

Handheld gaming PCs have been getting steadily more popular ever since the Steam Deck launched back in 2022. The main thing that's been holding the Windows handhelds back is how much the operating system sucks to navigate with a controller and a touch screen. Manufacturers like Lenovo and Asus have been trying to engineer ways to make their devices more usable – with Lenovo even licensing out SteamOS for its latest handheld.

Since Microsoft is working directly with Asus on the Xbox Ally X, it's taking the opportunity to make the device a lot more useable – hopefully, at least.

The first part of this is having the handheld launch directly into that revamped version of the Xbox App, but that's only part of the story. Microsoft is also tweaking the operating system at large to optimize the system for gaming.

You see, Windows 11 is kind of a bloated mess these days, and while I totally expect Microsoft to push Copilot, it still runs a lot of background tasks that are unnecessary if you're just using the device as a gaming machine. For instance, you probably don't need an always-on news widget that's constantly updating in the background.

Now, the big question is going to be whether or not Microsoft will allow other Windows-based handhelds to access these operating system updates. Either way, huge things are cooking for handheld gaming PCs this year.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Xbox Games Showcase right here, and keep up on the bevy of new announcements all weekend at IGN Live here.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

High on Life 2 has just been announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, and it's set to arrive this winter for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, including via Game Pass.

This sequel to Squanch Games' foul-mouthed gun game sees the developer returning to its cartoony first-person shooting gameplay.

The original High on Life launched in 2022 to mixed reviews, and controversy around the involvement of Justin Roiland. Still, it did the numbers on Xbox Game Pass and, last year, a High on Life animated series was suggested as being in the works.

Check out the world premiere trailer for High on Life 2. The comedic first person shooter is slated to release this winter on Xbox Series X/S, PC , and PS5.#XboxShowcase #IGNLive #IGNSummerOfGaming pic.twitter.com/521Spz3rv8

— IGN (@IGN) June 8, 2025

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

Developing...

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

There's a new Plague Tale on the way! Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy just got revealed at today's Xbox Games Showcase for a 2026 release.

Resonance is a prequel to A Plague Tale, set 15 years before the events of the original game. It follows the journey of Sophia as a young plunderer on the run, who ends up on Minotaur's Island and tries to unravel the myth of the island, learn more about herself, and escape those pursuing her. The game's setting shifts back and forth between the Middle Ages and ancient Minoa, and Sophia must navigate a deadly maze full of traps and puzzles to survive.

Check out the #XboxShowcase Trailer for Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, a new installment in the third-person action adventure narrative-driven game set 15 years before the original games. #IGNLive #IGNSummerOfGaming pic.twitter.com/kkz81ZtA21

— IGN (@IGN) June 8, 2025

Resonance is being developed as part of an ongoing partnership between Focus Entertainment Publishing and developer Asobo Studio. The game is set for a 2026 release on Xbox Series, PS5, and Steam, and will be available day one on Game Pass.

We enjoyed both the last A Plague Tale games. We gave Innocence a 7/10, calling its story "compelling and the stealth gameplay that runs through it is fine-tuned, but the rat-infested world looks more dangerous than it actually is." Requiem got an 8/10 from us, "an impressive sequel to one of my favorite action-adventure games, upping the ante in almost every way."

For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.

Developing...

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

At today's Xbox Games Showcase, we saw a new trailer for The Outer Worlds 2 showing the power of space capitalism run amok, which came with a release date of October 29, 2025.

We've already seen quite a bit of The Outer Worlds 2, and we've got a lot more to come. We got a lot of snippets of combat in all sorts of environments against all different kinds of enemies, human and otherwise.

The Outer Worlds 2 was first announced at E3 2021, and we've since seen quite a bit about how it aims to be a bigger, better exploration of the vision of the first The Outer Worlds, including through our own IGN First. There's a The Outer Worlds 2-focused direct coming after today's Xbox Showcase that will give us an even deeper look at the game ahead of its launch.

The Outer Worlds 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on October 29, 2025.

You can catch up on everything announced at today's Xbox Games Showcase right here, and keep up on the bevy of new announcements all weekend at IGN Live here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Magic: The Gathering keeps churning out set after set, and 2025 is no different. From mainline sets like Aetherdrift and Tarkir: Dragonstorm, to remasters like Innistrad, and Universes Beyond Final Fantasy, it’s a stacked year—and that’s just the first half.

With so much to look forward to, the company has still planned a whole host of Secret Lair card drops throughout the year, and it’s getting pretty tricky to stay on top of everything coming as a result.

Upcoming Set: Secret Lair x Final Fantasy - June 9

This five-card set includes art from Jack Teagle for Mulldrifter, All Will Be One, Benevolent Hydra, Forgotten Ancient and Animar, Soul of Elements.

Artist Series: Jesper Ejsing - February 10

This Secret Lair drop includes four cards with artwork from Danish illustrator Jesper Ejsing, including Sun Titan, Deflecting Swat, Llanowar Elves and Breeches, Eager Pillager.

Lorwyn Lightboxes - February 10

Still available from Wizards at the time of writing, Lorwyn Lightboxes are stylised versions of Ancient Ampitheater, Auntie’s Hovel, Gilt-Leaf Palace, Secluded Glen and Wanderwine Hub.

City Styles 2: Dressed to Kill - February 10

Giving an urban theme to Karmic Guide, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Captain Sisay, Selvala, Explorer Returned and Veyran, Voice of Duality, this Secret Lair is long gone.

Arcade Racers - February 10

With gorgeous pixel art, arcade theming, these versions of Big Score, Final Fortune, Heat Shimmer, Roiling Vortex, and Wheel of Misfortune are eye-catching and still in stock.

Aether Drifters - February 10

Aping the design of Hot Wheels packaging, these Aether Drifters include reversible cards for six vehicles including Mechtitan Core and Smuggler’s Copter.

Featuring: Mitsuhiro Arita - February 10

This collection offers four Magic The Gathering cards from longtime Pokemon illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita. Murktide Regent, Lightning Bolt, Shorikai Genesis Machine and Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice look incredible.

Cats vs Dogs - March 17

This double drop pits canines against felines. Both include Escape to the Wilds, Titanic Ultimatum, Rip Apart, Arcane Signet and Basilisk Collar, but with art to signify your chosen species.

Spongebob: Squarepants - March 24

With Spongebob and pals taking cardboard forms, collectors can grab 7 individual pieces, including Plankton, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and, of course, Patrick Star and Spongebob SquarePants himself as part of the Legends of Bikini Bottom set.

There’s also a Lands bundle for the Nickelodeon favorite, and a meme-focused set of spells, too.

Twisted Toons - March 24

A little Spongebob-adjacent, these full-art, Toon-inspired cards give us Cuphead vibes.

Tragic Romance - March 24

Following a ‘Romantasy’ theme, these cards include Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, Master of Cruelties, Angel of Despair and Kaalia of the Vast.

They Grow Up So Fast - March 24

This Dragon-centric drop has five cards, each with two versions of Dragonlords like Atarka and Dromoka. Both versions are the same card, but with a young and mature version of each dragon.

Pick’em and Stick’em - March 24

This intriguing set is still in stock, and offers cards and accompanying stickers for players to customise them with. Clever Impersonator, Hedron Crab, Pitiless Plunderer, a Treasure Token and Thalia, Heretic Cathar are included.

Garden Buds - March 24

Billed as the last remnants of an Ashaya, Soul of the Wild Commander deck that was lost to time, these seed-style cards include Harrow, Elvish Reclaimer, World Shaper and Horn of Greed with art from Jordan Crane.

Oishi! Tokens - March 26

Inspired by Japanese food packaging, this set includes four Food Tokens, and is sold out.

Secret Lair x Marvel’s Deadpool - April 1

The Merc with a Mouth’s Secret Lair has sold out, but it’s well worth a look if you can find it on the secondhand market. Fourth Wall-breaking versions of Deadly Rollick, Saw in Half, Blasphemous Act and Vandalblast are here, as well as Deadpool, Trading Card.

Adventures of the Little Witch - April 22

This adorable set has Secret Rendezvous, Serenity, Esika’s Chariot and Realms Uncharted, all with Heikala’s inimitable artwork and use of color.

VROOOOOMMMMMM - April 28

Toru Terada lends his incredible art to Lava Dart, Monastery Swiftspear, Soul-Scar Mage, Underworld Breach, and Mishra’s Bauble. Still available, too.

Everything Is On Fire - April 28

This set is all about bringing the heat, with spicy new art for Chain Lightning, Dragon’s Rage Channeller, Lava Spike, Rift Bolt and Skewer the Critics.

Featuring: Jay Howell - April 28

Jay Howell’s Secret Lab set includes cartoonish versions of Marchesa, the Black Rose, Uncivil Unrest, Treasonous Ogre, Priest of Forgotten Gods and Agent of Treachery, all from the guy who designed the cast of Bob’s Burgers.

Secret Lair X KEXP: Where the Music Matters - April 28

This set of Land cards includes two of each basic land type for a total of 10 in the set, and is inspired by the independent radio station KEXP.

Secret Lair X KEXP: You Are Not Alone - April 28

Another KEXP collab, this one has a series of colorful card varients that lean into a “group-hug” deck theme. Cultural Exchange, Folio of Fancies, Concordant Crossroads, Rites of Flourishing and Font of Mythos are included.

Everyone’s Invited! - May 12

This double rainbow foil Secret Lair drop is still available (for $200, we might add) and includes Shapeshifters, Dryads, Elementals, Faeries, Slivers, Cats and more. Ten foil cards, four foil tokens, one foil display card and 90 reprints.

Slay the Day - May 19

The latest set at the time of writing includes Marwyn, the Nurturer as well as Liesa, Shroud of Dusk, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, and Slythis, Harvest’s Hand.

What is Secret Lair?

Secret Lair is a limited-time drop of cards that are usually offered as bundles for a day or two at the most before they sell out.

They’ve had some wild theming in the past, but with Magic: The Gathering channelling its inner Fortnite, the crossovers are becoming more and more frequent (in fact, Fortnite has had its own Secret Lair set because, of course, it has).

The cards have new artwork, but are based on existing cards in terms of gameplay functionality, so you can expect to use them in competitive play, so long as the original card is still in the standard rotation.

As of the debut of Final Fantasy’s Universes Beyond set, that list of Standard rotation sets runs until Brother’s War.

Lloyd Coombes is Gaming Editor @ Daily Star. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay. He's also a tech, gaming, and fitness freelancer seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, IGN, and more.

The June 2025 Xbox Games Showcase has come to a close after two hours of announcements for games like Gears of War: E-Day, Fable, Perfect Dark, and more.

It was yet another jam-packed show under Microsoft’s belt that included highlights such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, more Final Fantasy on Xbox, Persona 4 Revival, Grounded 2, and much, much more. Although we didn’t see things like Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 6 or what’s next for 343 Industries and the Halo franchise, today’s presentation still managed to fill 2025 and 2026 with exciting projects that still need a bit more time in the oven.

If you weren’t able to tune in or missed portions of the show, we’ve got good news: IGN has collected everything announced at the June 2025 Xbox Games Showcase in this story. You can read up on all of the biggest announcements and surprises below.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Officially Announced for PC and Consoles, Coming This Year

Microsoft's one-last-thing reveal for the Xbox Game Showcase 2025 was Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, another numbered entry in its popular alternate history Call of Duty storyline. A cinematic reveal trailer for Black Ops 7 mostly focused on callbacks to previous entries, but we'll have to wait to see how else it will change the game when it eventually launches.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Coming to Xbox This Winter, Final Fantasy 16 Out Today

Square Enix fans on Xbox have waited years to play some of the biggest Final Fantasy games on Xbox Series X | S, and for some, that wait ends today. Final Fantasy 16 is out now for Xbox Series X | S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud, with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade set to arrive this winter.

Good News: Invincible VS Fighting Game Reveal 3v3 Combat for PC and Consoles

Invincible is getting a bloody 3v3 fighting game for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. In what Xbox called a "World F***ing Premiere," we got to see some gameplay for Invincible VS with playable characters that include Mark and Atom Eve.

The Persona 4 Remake Is Real and It’s Called Persona 4 Revival

Atlus finally announced Persona 4 Revival, a new version of its classic RPG coming to PC and consoles at an unspecified point in the future. Although this is far from a surprise, an early look at its gameplay gave players some details to cling to while we wait for a release date.

Animo Let’s Players Transform Into Pokémon-Like Creatures in Bubbly Gameplay Trailer

Animo gave Xbox fans a change of pace when it showed off a lush world filled with strange animals at the Xbox Games Showcase today. Its in development at Pawprint Studio and is set to launch for Xbox and PC in 2026.

Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf Confirmed, Coming to PC and Consoles in 2026

Thunderful and Wishfully are back with Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf. We got a first look at its colorful, spacey graphics with a trailer today.

There Are No Ghosts at the Grand Trailer Reveals Vibrant New World Coming to PC and Consoles in 2026

Talking cats, storybook visuals, and creative FPS gameplay were just a few of the highlights shown when the There Are No Ghosts at the Grand trailer premiered during the Xbox Games Showcase today. Expect to learn more as its launch for PC and Xbox in 2026 draws near.

Aphelion Is a Chilling Space Adventure from Don’t Nod

Aphelion revealed how Don’t Nod will take its storytelling skills to a new universe with a gameplay trailer shown off during today’s presentation.

Clockwork Revolution Takes a Deep Dive Into Its Steampunk World

Highly anticipated InXile Entertainment project Clockwork Revolution finally reappeared at the Xbox Games Showcase to give players a much closer look at its twisted metropolis, Avalon. It’s still got no release date, but the footage should give players plenty to comb over while they wait.

Cronos: The New Dawn Is a Bloober Team Sci-Fi Horror Game Coming Fall 2025

Silent Hill 2 remake developer Bloober Team made a surprise appearance at the Xbox Games Showcase to show off gameplay for Cronos: The New Dawn. This Dead Space-looking horror game is set to come to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S this fall.

Grounded 2 Confirmed, Coming to Game Preview July 29

Obsidian is shrinking gamers once again, confirming that Grounded 2 is real and set to launch in Game Preview next month. An early look at how it shakes up that Honey, I Shrunk the Kids gameplay was revealed with a trailer today.

Beast of Reincarnation Is a Game Freak Game Coming to PC and Consoles in 2026

Longtime Pokémon developer Game Freak made a surprise appearance at the Xbox Games Showcase to reveal Beast of Reincarnation, an ambitious action game coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox in 2026. An early look at this change of pace for the studio was revealed in the form of a trailer today.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle DLC The Order of Giants Whips Up September 4, 2025 Release Date

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will deliver a new Machine Games story when its DLC, The Order of Giants, launches later this year. We got a first look at how it will expand Indiana Jones' story with a first-look trailer today.

Ninja Gaiden 4 Slices Into Players With October 21, 2025 Release Date

Team Ninja appeared at the Xbox Game Showcase 2025 with a fall release date for Ninja Gaiden 4. Expect to finally continue Ryu Hayabusa's journey when it comes to PC and consoles later this year.

Super Meat Boy 3D Revealed With First Look at Gameplay

Team Meat is bringing its bloody mascot to a new realm when Super Meat Boy 3D launches in 2026. You can learn more about its official reveal here.

The ROG Xbox Ally X Is Real, and It's Coming Later This Year

Microsoft finally pulled back the curtain on its Xbox-infused mobile gaming device, the ROG Xbox Ally X. Details on everything the device can do remain to be seen, but today's reveal trailer did include a first look at how it will take PC and Xbox gaming on the go later this year.

Resonance A Plague Tale Legacy Revealed, Coming in 2026 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox

A new story from the A Plague Tale universe is in development. Asobo Studio says its latest story, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, is set to come to PC and consoles sometime next year.

High on Life 2 Announced for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Consoles

Squanch Games is coming back with a full-on sequel to its popular comedy shooter. We got an early look at how High on Life 2 will turn up the chaos with a pre-rendered trailer today.

The Outer Worlds 2 Release Date Set for October 29

While Microsoft has promised to deliver a deep dive into Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2 after the Xbox Games Showcase, today’s presentation kicked off with more gameplay as well as the news that the project is officially set to launch October 29, 2025. We’ll learn more about what’s in store after today’s main presentation comes to a close.

Developing…

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).

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn looks so Mass Effect that some are already calling it Mass Effect: The Expanse. Based on the debut trailer and what we know about how the game works, it’s easy to see why. And to be fair to the developers at Owlcat Games, they’re wearing their inspiration on their sleeves.

In an interview with IGN, creative director Alexander Mishulin and head of publishing Andrey Tsvetkov are up-front about the influence BioWare’s sci-fi series has had on The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. But, they insist, it’s more than just a carbon copy.

As for fans of The Expanse itself, Osiris Reborn is an exciting project as it offers a new story that sees some of the actors from the much-loved Prime Video series reprise their roles. Owlcat won’t say who exactly (I tried!), but at least we know there’s more The Expanse coming for fans still missing the show after it ended in 2022.

In fact, for me, there’s even more to be excited about when it comes to The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. I’m a big Mass Effect fan, I love The Expanse, and I love Owlcat’s Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, which is not just one of the best Warhammer 40,000 games of recent years, but one of the best cRPGs around.

Is Osiris Reborn the sweet spot in the middle of a venn diagram of Mass Effect, The Expanse, and Warhammer 40,000? Read on to find out just how Mass Effect The Expanse: Osiris Reborn really is.

IGN: This sounds a lot like Mass Effect to me, even down to the mechanics and gameplay. Is that fair to say?

Alexander Mishulin: Of course Mass Effect is a huge inspiration for the team. It was one of the biggest games of that time, of Xbox 360. It was played from cover to cover by many team members. Being game developers, it's part of our dream to build something like the thing we experienced while we were kids and that made a great impression on us.

So in part yes, but while still having Mass Effect as an inspiration, it's still very much an Owlcat game. It's our story with choices and consequences. It's more grounded and realistic. It's also mechanically more modern. And while it still has a similar target in the audience, we are providing more choices and we are more focused on a modern approach where you can make your own playstyle, make your own experience through the game, which separates us in many ways from the mechanical decisions of Mass Effect.

In terms of companions, we love companions. We love the companions in Mass Effect, and we want to give them more spotlight. We want to provide you with more opportunities to see them in action, not only in a Suicide Mission, but in most of the missions to see how they can help you go through, or maybe experience some stroke of bad luck and you will go and help them. So they’re a bigger part of the story and, in our opinion, a bigger part of our team.

We cannot deny it's [Mass Effect] an inspiration, but it's still our own game and our own dream to make a game with similar feelings and bring it to our modern audience.

IGN: Who do you play as?

Alexander Mishulin: You play as a mercenary, and there is a twist to that. When you are creating a character, you are creating a character with a sibling. As in real life, while you are similar to your brother or sister, you’re still very much different. So when you're creating a character, you start as a mercenary. I can't talk a lot about the story, but you will get in a not really great situation and will start to try to get over that.

And also mechanically speaking, when you're creating your own character, you can start creating your own playstyle. You can choose from more pre-generated characters that are thematic to various parts, like being a sniper for example. You can also mix and match everything and create something of your own that is more fitting to your character, or just more fitting to the way you play the game.

IGN: And is it like Mass Effect where you can create a male or female character who is fully voiced?

Alexander Mishulin: Yeah, the game is fully voiced, also with the main characters. You can create male and females. There is a very robust and expansive character creation with a lot of options to choose from. Nice hairstyles, nice features, everything you would expect from modern character creation.

IGN: You’ve said you will meet some of the characters people know from the show. Can you say which characters from the show people can expect to meet? Have you got any of the actors? Are they based on the likenesses of the actors from the show with voice work?

Alexander Mishulin: We can confirm that there will be actors from the show. But at this time I can't say the name of the characters or the name of the actors. I'm sorry.

IGN: But that's really exciting because they're reprising their roles, aren't they? Which given the show has ended will be exciting for fans to see them again.

Andrey Tsvetkov: Absolutely. As Alex has mentioned, some of the actors will be returning to their iconic roles and you will see them in the game.

IGN: One of the things that Mass Effect was famous for was being able to romance your party members with sex scenes. Is that something you have in your game?

Alexander Mishulin: Of course. Companions are a huge part of our games. And in all of our games we had various interactions, including romances, and there will be romances in this game too. I can't go into the specifics of which particular characters, or which particular romances of course. But such interactions will be present.

As for companions, as I already said, your sibling, either brother or sister because this character will have the same gender as your character — so it's either two brothers or two sisters — you can think about this character as your first companion and most loyal companion from the start.

As for other companions, we are not going into details on them, but they represent specialists and professionals from different fields of knowledge. And of course you'll be meeting Martian characters, Earth characters, and Belter characters. All of them will be part of your team, and this will add additional dynamic inter-relations. Because as you know, a lot of events in The Expanse are politically charged, so you can expect some of your companions to have strong opinions about your decisions regarding the politics and allegiances to particular factions.

IGN: You’ve said the game will have zero-g sections where you go out on the hull of spacecraft. Some of the best moments of The Expanse show were the zero-g scenes. It’s a grounded, hard sci-fi universe, an adult show with gore, nudity, and sex. Will the game be similar in tone to the TV show?

Alexander Mishulin: Yeah, The Expanse is very much an adult game with all of those themes, with difficult and tragic moments. Being a cover shooter, you can expect that there is a lot of graphic violence. So yeah, it's very much on par with the show.

But in terms of tone, we are exploring The Expanse from a little bit of a different side. You will be seeing dark moments, but you sometimes will be seeing light moments too, because it's not only doom and gloom everywhere. So you can expect to see the more ordinary life of the people of the various factions. Even in the hard situations there are times when people just rise up and become successful. And so you can expect to see the hardship of the Belt characters, but you can also see some of the Belt characters who become very successful and rather powerful.

It's our understanding of The Expanse universe. And it's also — sorry for the tautology — it's expanding the setting itself, allowing you to see some of the locations you know from the shows or from the books in different states or in a different light.

IGN Live 2025 has officially begun, and the first day of our celebration of video games and entertainment was filled with exclusive reveals, trailers, interviews, clips, stars, and so much more.

To help ensure you don't miss a thing, we will be gathering the biggest moments from IGN Live right here, so be sure to keep checking back to see what surprises we have in store!

Day 2 of IGN Live is almost here, and you can check out the full schedule and what to expect right here!

Squid Game's Battle of Beliefs: Stars and Director on Gi-Hun and In-ho Squaring Off in Season 3

The third and final season of Squid Game is almost here, and we were not only given a sneak peek at the first episode, but we also chatted with creator/director/writer Hwang Dong-hyuk and actors Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Park Sung-hoon, and Kang Ae-sim to find out what we can expect from the last episodes of the series.

Still reeling after the murder of his best friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan) and the seeming squashing of his rebellion movement, Gi-hun is despondent and alone in the barracks. Alone without resources, it begs the question, what do the orchestrators of the game want with Gi-hun as the series heads into its end game?

Ironheart: Exclusive First Clip from the New Marvel TV Series

MCU fans can check out the very first clip from Ironheart that we debuted today at IGN Live. The footage shows young genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) meeting with the enigmatic Parker Robbins aka "The Hood" (Anthony Ramos), who offers Riri a Faustian bargain in her quest to create an "iconic" iron suit.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 Exclusive Trailer

IGN exclusively debuted the new trailer for the upcoming third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at IGN Live today.

“In season three, when we reconnect with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, still under the command of Captain Pike, they face the conclusion of season two’s harrowing encounter with the Gorn,” according to the official synopsis.

“But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters’ grit and resolve. An exciting twist on classic Star Trek, season three takes characters both new and beloved to new heights, and dives into thrilling adventures of faith, duty, romance, comedy and mystery, with varying genres never before seen on any other Star Trek.”

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2025 to Feature the First-Ever Fallout Haunted House

IGN can exclusively reveal that Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights in both Orlando and Hollywood will be getting a new haunted house based on Prime Video’s Fallout series and that HHN’s Five Night’s at Freddy’s experience will be based on the movie, the latter of which will be brought to life with the help of the legendary Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, who also did the animatronics for the film.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Cast Premieres the First 10 Minutes of the Game's Documentary

The cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stopped by IGN Live to not only discuss the beloved new game from Sandfall Interactive, but also to exclusively premiere an over 10-minute look at the game's making-of documentary.

M3GAN 2.0 Director on (Possibly) Redeeming the Character and the Portal Inspiration in Her Voice

M3GAN 2.0 writer and director Gerard Johnstone talked with us about the upcoming sequel to the 2023 hit and how it evolves M3GAN, gives her a Terminator 2-inspired upgrade, and takes the franchise into a wild new territory. He also shared a new clip that shows M3GAN in a towel after a fight training session.

Critical Role Celebrates 10 Years and Tease Future Animation and Games Projects

Critical Role is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey and Matthew Mercer gathered together to look back at the path that got them to today and teasing what the future may hold.

Ewan McGregor on How the Long Way Docuseries Has Literally Changed His Life

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back for another run at their docuseries that follows the friends on another motocycle journey together, and we were able to speak to them about these new episodes and share a new clip.

McGregor described the entire Long Way series as “a very, very important part of my life. The four trips we've done, we couldn't have imagined when we started doing Long Way Round that it would lead to all of the places we've seen and all the people we've met and all of the experiences we've gone through together. I don't think we could have imagined it, but now it's a large part of my life. The Long Way trips have become something really special to me.”

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' Takashi Iizuka on Crossover Racers Like Minecraft's Steve and How Travel Rings Change Everything

Alongside debuting new gameplay, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka joined us at IGN Live to share more about Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and why this is one big crossover kart racer you need to play.

We chatted about the exciting guest racers coming to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds like Hatsune Miku, Like a Dragon's Ichiban Kasuga, Persona 5's Joker, and Minecraft's Steve, Alex, and Creeper, how they fit into the game's three lap structure that's filled with the world-jumping Travel Rings, and more.

MindsEye Director on the Importance of Allowing User-Generated Content in the Game

MindsEye is set to be released on June 10, and the game's director, Leslie Benzies, sat down and discussed the new third-person action-adventure game with us. We discussed how MindsEye isn't a traditional open world game, how easy it is to add user-generated content to the game, how the story is part of a much larger tale in the making, and more.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Cast on the Show’s Enduring Popularity and Season 18’s Storylines

To celebrate its 20th year and its 18th season, Criminal Minds: Evolution's showrunner Erica Messer and castmembers Joe Mantegna, Aisha Tyler, and Zach Gilford stopped by IGN Live to discuss what's to come this season on the rechristened Criminal Minds: Evolution and the enduring popularity of the series.

Nyaight of the Living Cat Anime Exclusive Clip and Dead by Daylight In-Game Collaboration Revealed

As part of IGN Live, we can exclusively reveal the initial two terrifying yet adorable minutes of the first episode of Crunchyroll's Nyaight of the Living Cat anime and announce that the show will be getting its very own Dead by Daylight in-game collection collaboration.

Revival's First Five Minutes Feature the Dead Coming Back to Life in a Surprising Way, People on Fire, and More

IGN Live was able to exclusively reveal the first five minutes of SYFY's upcoming adaptation of Revival, and we also had the chance to speak to the series' co-creator and showrunner, Aaron B. Koontz, about why this show about the dead coming back to life in surprising way will be well worth a watch.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

Alongside debuting new gameplay, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka joined us at IGN Live to share more about Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and why this is one big crossover kart racer you need to play.

We are just one day removed from Sonic Racing: CrossWorld's big reveal at Summer Game Fest that Hatsune Miku, Like a Dragon's Ichiban Kasuga, Persona 5's Joker, and Minecraft's Steve, Alex, and Creeper will all be guest characters, and Iizuka reflected on what the process was like in choosing who gets to join in on all the fun.

"We wanted to make sure the second lap around was going to be full of surprises as you're going to a different world that you didn't even think was possible," Iizuka said. "So, when brainstorming what we could do to make that really fun and exciting, we knew it would be great to go to some of the Sega IP worlds, but we also wanted to go to other IP worlds and really surprise people with that second lap. As we got to thinking about what worlds be fun to explore, we really thought Minecraft and its characters could be very fun."

For those unfamiliar, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has a very interesting three-lap formula thats starts with a pretty standard first lap. However, the racer in first place will then get to pick a new world everyone will race through via Travel Rings.

"The three Lap formula is really good for racers," Iizuka said. "It's really easy to understand, and we wanted to make things new and fresh so you're not just racing around the same place over and over again. And that was where the idea of the Travel Ring formed, which is to bring you somewhere new and unknown in that second lap. That's not all, as we wanted to keep the surprise and the racing really fresh and fun, so we added in some surprises for the third lap too."

We then shifted our conversation to items, and Iizuka shared that he loved that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is paying homage to Sonic Racing games with the addition of the Rocket Punch item and Team Sonic Racing with Wisp items, but he did admit that his favorite item in this new game is the Monster Truck power-up that "lets you turn your vehicle into a monster truck and just run over everyone in front of you."

There's a lot more to look forward to in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds when it is released on September 25, 2025, including the return of Sonic Riders' hoverboards, the ability for any character to ride in any vehicle, racing up to 12 players online, and even the most-welcome of features in cross-play.

Speaking of different platforms, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. And yes, even though it may arrive a bit after, Switch 2 players will also soon be able to hit the road with the over 23 racers featured in this game.

For more, check out our Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds preview and everything else you need to know about IGN Live.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

It may have taken a brief two-year break, but now in its 20th year and in its 18th (!) season – with a 19th already ordered – Criminal Minds has become quite an impressive television-turned-streaming institution. Showrunner Erica Messer and cast members Joe Mantegna, Aisha Tyler and Zach Gilford were part of the festivities at IGN Live today, to discuss what’s to come this season on the rechristened Criminal Minds: Evolution and the enduring popularity of the series.

After the panel began with a clip from an upcoming episode in which a terrified woman found herself waking up inside a buried box, Mantegna, when asked what exactly was going on by moderator Kim Horcher, replied, “We have people in boxes underground on occasion. This is just another example of that!” Added Tyler, “We bury a lady in a box every week! You’ve gotta be more specific!”

She did add that this was tied into the current storyline about people who idealize and idolize Gilford’s killer, Elias Voit, saying “There are people that have seen what he has done and maybe want to emulate him.”

Speaking about Criminal Minds’ astounding ongoing popularity, Messer remarked, “It's been an incredible ride. I’ve been on the show since 2005. I’m the only writer who’s been there the whole run. At the core, it’s good vs. evil and sadly that is an endless tale to tell. This iteration, Evolution, we really wanted to challenge what our heroes go through.” Referring to Elias, she said “In walks this guy and definitely gives them a run for their money.”

Both Mantegna and Tyler directed episodes this season, something they said they always enjoy doing. Mantegna was honored to have one of the final performances from his friend, the late Linda Lavin, in his episode, remarking “She really delivered.” Tyler said that when it came to directing Criminal Minds, “I love this cast so much so getting to direct your friends is really exciting. It’s a really cohesive cast. Everyone wants everyone else to win,” before adding “You get to make the best show about serial killers ever made!”

Elias has turned into a major ongoing part of Criminal Minds after being introduced in Season 16, as the series was revived. Said Tyler, “Elias is a really terrible person but Zach’s humanized him in a lot of ways. It’s not about making serial killers into good people but it is about understanding what can go wrong in a human being; what can turn them into a monster.”

This season, Elias has amnesia, which Gilford has enjoyed playing, observing, “It’s not very often you get to play a character for the third season and get to re-meet all the characters.” Gilford said he was intrigued by his character’s current status and the questions it raises. “If someone regrets what they did and they have different brain chemistry and clearly are not that person anymore, how do you deal with that person? Do you forgive them? What do you do with them?”

Added Messer, “I think one of the reasons we get Elias amnesia is so we can play these different levels of him. He’s in custody but he has a conscience. We'll see if it sticks!”

As the panel was nearing its conclusion, the cast members were asked how three of their other popular TV characters would fare in the world of Criminal Minds - Gilford’s Matt Saracen from Friday Night Lights, Tyler’s Lana Kane from Archer and Joe Mantegna’s Fat Tony from The Simpsons.

Gilfrord laughed, imagining small town football hero Saracen in this scenario, declaring, “He’s a hard worker! …He was smart but I don’t know if he was that smart,” before adding, “He’d throw the ball if they needed him.”

Said Mantegna, “You’d have to keep Fat Tony out of craft services. Because he doesn’t get mad, he gets stabby!”

As for Tyler, she remarked, “Obviously, Lana Kane was the greatest superspy to ever live, so I think she’d be an absolute asset to the BAU. But she should probably put on more clothes, right? I don’t think that outfit is really appropriate for government work.”

New episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution debut Wednesdays on Paramount+.

With the release of MindsEye just days away, the game’s director, Leslie Benzies, paid a visit to IGN Live today to discuss the new third-person action-adventure game.

MindsEye is not an open world game and Benzies said he felt, “It’s often hard in an open world to keep the story clean,” before joking that “It might be strange to go and bowl for two days when you need to save the world.” However, he added, the game does include “an open world system through the Build MindsEye system.”

Benzies elaborated that a crucial component of the game for he and his collaborators was the ability it includes to add user-generated content, explaining “As you’re playing any mission, if you like a spot on the map, you can immediately start to create anything you want [right there].”

He said they’d purposely made it an uncomplicated system. “We want to keep this as simple as possible… So you can have something half-decent within a minute and a half. It’s putting the power of building into the hands of players.” He said that a general thought for the approach to MindsEye included “pushing it towards people who want to make games.”

Asked how they will curate these builds for other players to best find them, he explained “At launch, we will curate and pick the cream of the crop on a featured menu.” However, he added, “Eventually, we want players to choose what they want. We don’t want to dictate eventually how you earn money in the game or how you decide to play the game.”

The building tool that will be used by players was also used by those making the game, with Benzies saying “A lot of what you see now was built within the tool. A lot of the ambience… Anything we could build using the tool we would.” He also noted, “Our next game, we’ll use it more.” At the same time, he promised “Every tool we use to build the game we’ll give to players so they can use.”

Benzies indicated they had grand plans for MindsEye follow ups, stating “The MindsEye story, it’s a small part of a very big story that we intend to tell over however many years it takes.” He compared the larger world they were formulating to something like Star Wars, in that “We have many stories that take place over different time periods in the same universe.”

The game director also noted that “multiplayer will come at the end of this year and then we have a huge multiplayer world add on that will come next year.”

Circling back to the user generated content, Benzies said he was excited to see what becomes of it because he thinks when you give the tools to the public, they’ll often find “More interesting ways to use the tools and almost hack the tools."

M3GAN 2.0 writer and director Gerard Johnstone stopped by IGN Live to discuss the sequel, as he previewed what to expect in the film and debuted a new clip (which is embedded below). Having also directed the 2023 hit that introduced M3GAN, Johnstone spoke with IGN’s Tom Jorgensen about the evolution of the character and the franchise into wild new territory in the sequel.

In the clip, M3GAN is seen with a towel after a fight training session, which begs the question… Why would M3GAN have need of a towel, given she’s a robot and doesn’t sweat?

Johnstone laughed that he is familiar with the question and explained it was because for M3GAN, it’s all about the look and the attitude. “It’s the fun of the character. She’s got a towel or she’s wearing goggles [in a later scene] and I know people will be saying ‘Why does she need this?’ And the answer is because she can. Because she wants to.

Johnston also spoke about the character’s memorable voice, performed by Jenna Davis (matching Amie Donald’s on set movements) with some digital tweaks. If the way she speaks reminds you of GLaDOS, you're not wrong. As Johnston explained, “Getting her voice right was a really tricky thing to do,” noting they spent a lot of time on getting it right. Ultimately, “The more I described it to [sound designer] PK Hooker, the more he said ‘Oh, you mean the robot from Portal!”

The footage we’ve seen from M3GAN 2.0 seems to be positioning her in a much more heroic role, as she takes on the new threat of AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), a military-created robot using M3GAN’s tech, who is now out of control. So should we consider M3GAN a good guy now?

Johnston noted that when the first M3GAN opened, despite M3GAN outright killing people (and a dog!) during the course of the film, “The amazing thing about the first movie is people thought of her as a hero.”

He explained that M3GAN 2.0 asks “Is she really evil or just doing what she was taught to do? Going back and retreading what we did in the first movie didn’t make any sense. Giving her a redemption arc just made sense. But at the same time, we’re not sure if we can trust her. That’s part of the ongoing mystery of the movie - is this all a long con?”

M3GAN 2.0 is opening in the midst of much more widespread use of (and debate about) AI. Johnston observed that “The theme of the first movie was really about iPads and how iPads are really pervasive and M3GAN is sort of an iPad with legs.” However, they were of course aware M3GAN plays into a different topicality now, and noted that with AI not going anywhere and people deciding “maybe we should try and work with it,” the movie leans into those themes.

Johnston said that while they had a bit more money to play with in M3GAN 2.0, “We probably had the budget of the opening scene of Terminator 2,” purposely evoking a movie he acknowledged M3GAN 2.0 is being compared to.

However, he added, when it came to making use of the money they had, “We punched above our weight. We pushed the action hard and we really went for it. It feels like a crazy, bat shit epic film and I think people are really gonna love it.”

M3GAN 2.0 opens June 27.

IGN exclusively debuted the very first clip from Marvel Television’s Ironheart at IGN Live in Los Angeles today. The clip can be viewed via the player above or the embed below.

The scene features young genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) meeting with the enigmatic Parker Robbins aka “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos), who offers Riri a Faustian bargain in her quest to create an “iconic” iron suit.

It was previously revealed that Riri resorts to stealing parts in order to build her suit of armor, which winds up getting her booted from MIT.

Set in Chicago after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart, according to the series’ official synopsis, “pits technology against magic.”

In addition to Thorne and Ramos, Ironheart’s cast includes Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White.

Black Panther and Sinners director Ryan Coogler serves as an executive producer on Ironheart along with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Zoie Nagelhout, Chinaka Hodge, Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler.

The series’ head writer is Chinaka Hodge while episodes are directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes.

Ironheart premieres on Disney+ on June 24, 2025.

It remains to be seen when fans will see Ironheart again following her own streaming series as the character is among the many Marvel heroes not appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.

For more Marvel coverage, catch up on the state of the MCU as we enter Phase 6 and discover why fans think Chris Hemsworth’s Thor may die in Avengers: Doomsday.

Gearbox Software has published a statement regarding the controversy surrounding changes to parent company Take-Two’s Terms of Service and fears that many Borderlands games now contain “spyware.”

Published directly on Steam, where outcry has materialized in the form of review-bombing campaigns for all major Borderlands titles, the statement’s aim is to address concerns while “maintaining transparency and confidence with the community.” That means tackling two key talking points that have taken over the Borderlands fanbase for months, including fears of spyware and modding crackdowns.

Gearbox makes its stance clear from the get-go: “Take-Two does not use spyware in its games.” While there are instances data will be collected, Gearbox doesn’t want players to fear that their private information is always up for grabs.

“Take-Two identifies these practices in its Privacy Policy to provide transparency to players and comply with its legal obligations,” Gearbox’s Steam statement says. “Take-Two collects this information to deliver its services to players, including to protect the game environment and player experience. You can read more about this in the Privacy Policy.”

The statement continues: “For example, player and device identifiers are collected in part to ensure the game is compatible with each player’s media, platform or website browser type. It allows us to better understand how players play games, and to personalize the user experience (like having usernames show up!). Account credentials are collected from users who choose to create accounts with Take-Two and its labels.”

It’s unclear if Gearbox’s explanation of Take-Two’s Terms of Service will be enough to calm those who took up arms after the agreement was altered back in February. Meanwhile, the studio’s explanation for its stance on the modding scene is fairly straightforward.

“Take-Two’s Terms of Service prohibit mods that allow users to gain an unfair advantage, negatively impact the ability of other users to enjoy the game as intended, or allow users to gain access to content that the user is not entitled to,” the statement clarifies. “We do this to protect the integrity of the game experience for all users.”

This is a direct response to fears that the modding community could face repercussions for any kind of modding activity, as Gearbox says Take-Two’s primary concern lies with cheaters who could dampen the experience for other players. The statement goes as far as to say Gearbox’s parent company “generally does not seek to take action against mods that are single-player only, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of its labels and third parties.”

Uproar began around May of this year when fans caught wind that Take-Two had updated its terms of service, affecting many of its existing titles. Rumor that the company was preying on user data quickly caught fire, resulting in a movement that saw the Recent Reviews sections for Borderlands 1, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3 tank into the “Mostly Negative” and “Overwhelmingly Negative” zones. While concerns subsided for the back half of May, fears kicked up once again when Borderlands 2 was made free to keep (for a limited time) on June 5.

For now, the Borderlands series’ Recent Reviews on Steam remain firmly in the red. Meanwhile, Gearbox is working to deliver Borderlands 4 this September. You can check out the latest news as well as a bit of gameplay by reading up on everything announced at its April 2025 State of Play presentation.

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).

As they celebrate their 10th anniversary, much of the group who make up Critical Role – including Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey and Matthew Mercer – gathered together for a celebratory panel at IGN Live moderated by Amelia Emberwing, looking back at the path so far and teasing what the future will hold.

Obviously the group could never have predicted the long term popularity of Critical Role when they began it 10 years ago. Asked when they began to realize it was becoming something truly successful, Willingham said “The first year, when more than 5000 people were watching an episode, I was like “uh oh!” because I never expected that and then the number kept growing.” He added that once they began doing convention appearances “and a comic book came around,” he knew this was a big deal.

Ray said it was actually their first convention appearance that really made an impact on her, laughing that back then, “We didn't understand the difference between concurrent viewers and total viewers,” so they assumed they only had a few thousand fans total around the world. “Then we went to the conventions and there were so many people and it was like ‘How are you all watching!?’”

Asked about moments that made them laugh the most while doing the show, the word “quiff” came up a lot, with Mercer mock insisting “Look, quiff is a nonsense word that has no true definition!” Ray also cracked up at Mercer once saying “Spread your legs and stretch your wings, with Mercer retorting “You know what I was going for!

While Ashley Johnson and Sam Riegel couldn’t make it, the panelists all were happy to talk them up - beyond joking about who smells the best and O’Brien joking “I commend Ashley for sticking to the bit of using dice she can't see. It’s a real leap of faith!”

Mercer noted how talented Johnson is “but she doesn’t believe it,” while Ray added “Ashley’s low key the funniest person I know because she’s not trying to be funny.” As Mercer put it “Ashley’s sense of humor is very Twin Peaks. It’s very odd and left of center.” As for Riegel, O’Brien remarked, “You know how talented he is, but Sam is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met,” with Jaffe saying he’s always so busy “I’m convinced he has a twin.”

Regarding the impact fans have had on Critical Role, Bailey recalled that in the early days, “I’d go on social media and see immediate fan art of what had [just] happened and it was mind blowing. It was cyclical and it would affect how I saw things when I saw someone’s visual of it.”

Willingham then cracked, “If you’re really lazy like me at coming up with a backstory, you wait until the first couple of episodes come in and use all the theories and speculation and pull from that.”

Jaffe said, for his part, “I don’t look at anything online ever because I figure if I like it, hopefully they do too,” though he added “The cosplay though and the art gets in my head and stays there.”

Critical Role will debut their second animated series soon in the form of Mighty Nein, which Willingham noted will differ from The Legend of Vox Machina by focusing on characters who don’t know each other initially and seeing them “come together and finding out maybe they don’t fit together that well.”

He added, “We’ve recorded the entire first and second season and we're going to hit all the moments you as fans and we as players and GMs want to see,” while promising some updates will be coming about the show this summer. Bailey mentioned the cast had watched the first three episodes together and were incredibly excited by how it turned out with O’Brien saying, “You guys are gonna be rarely happy. It came out really well.”

As for what else could be in the works, Willingham said “We look back at the last ten years of stories and we have no intention of leaving those characters alone, whether it be in an animated series or a feature or [something else].”

Willngham mentioned how they’d been teasing video game and interactive projects for a while now, revealing “The first offering that will be coming out later this year is not something set in Exandria. It’s not Critical Role IP, though those projects are coming. We’ll have more information on that this summer.”

The panel ended with a fan question, wondering what’s the most frustrated the others had gotten with Mercer as DM and Bailey laughed, “I think the most frustrated with you was when I was pregnant and I couldn’t hit you and I just remember being so enraged.” When O’Brien said the only time he was frustrated with Mercer was when he doesn’t take a break, Willingham chimed in “I don’t get frustrated with you. Work forever!”

Jaffe then suggested to Mercer “You could be meaner sometimes. Like hit harder!” to which Mercer replied, “I’ll remember that!”

ARK: Survival Evolved first landed on Steam’s Early Access on June 2, 2015. What began as an indie dinosaur survival sandbox game has since been downloaded tens of millions of times, seen a steady cadence of expansions, spawned multiple spinoffs, and recently been remastered. The franchise has been a massive success for developer Studio Wildcard, who is celebrating the game’s 10-year anniversary with in-game events, announcements, and new content across the world of ARK. To stick with the theme of the celebration, here are 10 things currently happening in the ARK universe.

1. Who Is Blowing Out the Candles?

ARK: Survival Ascended is the aforementioned remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved that launched in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It brought the world of ARK to the next generation of consoles and includes a graphical upgrade thanks to being rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. To celebrate ARK’s 10th birthday, Studio Wildcard added lots of party-themed content to ASA, including new structures, skins, consumables, and emotes. It also added the Egg Incubator from ARK: Survival Evolved, which allows you to keep toasty 10 eggs at once and cut down the time it takes for them to hatch.

2. ARK: Genesis Part 1 Arrives on Mobile

Now available on ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, the expansion pack of ARK: Genesis Part 1 is a story-oriented continuation of the series with new gameplay, creatures, craftable items, and structures. You wake up in a virtual simulation and must overcome its tests in order to uncover its secrets, all with the help of HLN-A, your chatty robot companion. As with the rest of the ARK series, you’ll need to explore, tame, build, and fight for survival. But this time, you’ll also need to adapt as your surroundings change around you.

3. New Underwater DLC Coming to ARK: Survival Evolved

Many Survivors still tame, train, and ride dinosaurs in the original ARK: Survival Evolved, and now ASE is getting a new DLC called ARK: Aquatica — the first major content update since the Fjordur map arrived in summer 2022. Exclusively designed by Snail Games to celebrate ARK’s 10-year anniversary, Aquatica adds a new underwater biome and the first entirely submerged ARK of the series, introducing new survival mechanics, environmental hazards, and a large map (three times the vertical size of the Aberration map). The new biome also adds 20 new tameable water-based creatures, 69 new Engrams (62 learnable Engrams and 7 tek Engrams), and underwater survival thanks to things like air pockets and submersibles.

4. ARK: Ragnarok Ascended Is on the Way

ARK: Ragnarok Ascended thunders onto ARK: Survival Ascended on June 18, bringing back the beloved map in a fully remastered form. In addition to returning favorites like the Griffin and Ice Wyvern, this update introduces a brand-new creature: the Bison — a fiercely loyal, horned powerhouse that’s as protective as it is powerful. With its volcanic chaos, rugged terrain, and a new beast to tame, Ragnarok is ready to challenge Survivors all over again.

5. Lost Colony Pre-Orders Start June 18

Pre-orders for ARK: Lost Colony, the first first massive canonical expansion pack for ARK: Survival Ascended, open on June 18. The creative team released an animated trailer earlier this year with the voice talents of Michelle Yeoh, Madeleine Madden, and Auli’i Cravalho that hinted at the map’s story. Set in a sprawling, occupied city, this full-sized expansion features new creatures, structures, gear, and powers, plus an all-new story that continues the story from ARK: Extinction. Players who pre-order will unlock exclusive Day One content and get a first taste of the action coming this November.

6. A Link to ARK 2

Lost Colony is scheduled to release in November, and its story will set the stage for the long-awaited ARK 2. The developers have teased that the upcoming DLC will include story threads, lore clues, and new mechanics that hint at what’s coming in the sequel. What exactly does that mean? We’ll just have to wait and see.

7. New Gareth Coker Music

The Lost Colony map will also feature new music from video game composer Gareth Coker, who composed what became the main theme of ARK: Survival Evolved back in 2015. His extensive catalogue also includes working on Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Minecraft, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Halo Infinite, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

8. Astraeos Update Expands the Frontier

The first major content drop for Astraeos has arrived with the launch of Lemnokis, a massive island map crafted by renowned ARK modder Nekatus. This sprawling new island is packed with diverse biomes, hidden caves, and towering redwoods where ancient ruins and colossal statues hint at lost civilizations. The lush expansion isn’t just for sightseeing — you can take on the game’s first-ever duo minibosses, Kalydonios and Erymanthian, two massive boars that fight with fire and poison.

9. Overwolf-Powered Mods in ARK: Survival Ascended

ARK: Survival Ascended embraces a thriving modding community through its partnership with CurseForge, offering players access to over 4,200 mods — including premium collaborations like the popular ARK x Power Rangers mod that lets Survivors suit up as the Green Ranger, White Ranger, Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, and more — complete with custom emotes and themed weapons like the Saba Sword and Zedd Staff. You can browse and download all official mods in the ARK Portal, where Survivors can customize their game with new creatures, gear, and gameplay experiences crafted by the community. This ecosystem keeps ARK fresh, and there’s more original and licensed mods on the horizon.

10. ARK: The Animated Series Part 2 Arrives in Late 2025

ARK: The Animated Series Part 2 premieres later in 2025, picking up Helena Walker’s survival story as she unravels more of the island’s prehistoric mysteries. Part 1, available now on Paramount+, introduced players to Helena’s world and featured a star-studded cast including Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Russell Crowe, Karl Urban, Elliot Page, Vin Diesel, Alan Tudyk, Madeleine Madden, and Michelle Yeoh — both Madden and Yeoh also appear in the ARK: Lost Colony trailer. You can also bring the show to life in-game with animated series character skins that are available now in ARK: Survival Ascended.